


Things Unsaid

by chuniranma



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, Other, Sexism, Trans Character, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28928973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuniranma/pseuds/chuniranma
Summary: After the fight with Saffron, all seems to be well and normal (or as normal as the martial artists of Nerima could ever get). But something about his curse has been gnawing away at Ranma. Meanwhile, Akane has started to really understand how she feels about her fiancé, causing a very downtrodden Ukyo to finally bow out of the fiancée running and leave town. And Shampoo struggles to handle her newest mission, a result of her failure to have already won over Ranma.This is a story of the things they can not say, must not say. And what happens when those secrets are revealed.
Relationships: Kuonji Ukyou/Saotome Ranma, Shampoo/Tendou Akane
Comments: 14
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ranma is OOC on purpose in these beginning chapters. Chapters will have both a Ranma and an Akane part, two sides of the same story that occasionally interact with each other. Rated M for occasionally mature language, as well as mature(ish) but not graphic romance/sex scenes.
> 
> Will have things that could be triggering to some, namely homophobia, transphobia, or sexism from some of the characters.

**_Ranma's Part_ **

Smoke filled the air. The once lush forest was now reduced to smoldering sticks. A huge crater stood in the middle of all the destruction. And in the epicenter lied a small, red headed girl on her back. She was breathing hard. Her clothes were torn and singed, and she had cuts and bruises all over her body. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move a muscle.

Ranma, the guy turned girl, was eventually able to move his head just enough to survey the damage. Off in the distance he could see Genma, his father, lying unconscious. His father’s friend, Soun Tendo, was lying beside him. The strength went out of Ranma’s neck as he felt his head hit the ground again.

It was all he could do just to stay conscious, so he stopped trying to move and instead began savoring the victory they had just accomplished. He wasn’t sure he could ever be happier than he had been right now. It had been a long battle that lasted hours, but they had done it. Happosai had been sealed away again. The old lecher would’t be bothering them anytime soon.

“Ranchan” Ukyo shrieked. Soon a girl with flowing black hair appeared in his vision. Her signature blue shirt was torn and singed, and the giant spatula she carried on her back was bent. She had tears in her eyes and was visibly shaken by what had happened. A tear came to Ranma’s left eye against his will. It wasn’t the manly thing to do, but in his girl form it was much harder to stop the tears. Even then, they had never once broken through his defenses. But with his body exhausted and on the edge, it didn’t seem like he could control his emotions anymore.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking over his body and letting out tiny yelps each time she found a large gash or small burn. Ukyo was perhaps his oldest friend. As she tried desperately to help him, he was suddenly taken in by her feminine charms. Her smell made him hungry, literally, as the odor of okonomiyaki wafted through the air. Her small face, so adorable and yet stained ugly with concern, made him want to put a hand on her cheek and reassure her everything was going to be alright, but the strength eluded him. It was funny that for so long he had believed she was a man. How he could mistake someone so beautiful for anything but, he couldn’t understand.

“Heh, never better,” he scoffed, trying to look tough. But his tough exterior was starting to crack. His cheeks had a crimson blush as his unbidden thoughts on Ukyo began to flood his mind. He had never seen her as a woman, but the dam that held back those thoughts had burst. And that wasn’t all that was getting through his defenses, even his emotions, for possibly the first time in his life, were overwhelming him. And being in his female form, he felt even more vulnerable, even more helpless. He kept trying to get up and walk away from Ukyo, to go check on the others, but no matter how hard he tried his muscles simply wouldn’t move. It would take a few days to fully recover from the beating he had received. A normal man would have died ten times over with the level of injuries he’d sustained. 

Ranma bit his lip, trying to hold back the thoughts that flooded his mind. Ukyo was crying and had begun to lift him up in her arms. He found himself impressed with her raw strength. He wondered if it was only because he was lighter as a woman or if Ukyo could just as effortlessly pick him up in his guy form.

“I’ll get you to Dr. Tofu’s,” Ukyo whimpered as she held him in her arms. She looked about the battlefield where the bodies of the scattered fighters were strewn. And then began to run.

“Wait,” Ranma huffed, having a hard time breathing. Ukyo stopped running only seconds into her sprint and looked down at him. Looking into her eyes, he felt more vulnerable than he thought a man should be able to. And he started to get angry. He hated that these thoughts and feelings were breaking through. He hated that he couldn’t lie to himself at the moment. And he really hated that a small part of him enjoyed being carried by Ukyo. It was… different. But a man shouldn’t want that, and his own guilt practically cancelled out any of the joy he was experiencing.

“I l-l-love you,” he stammered, locking his eyes with hers. She seemed to consider him for a moment that felt like eternity. A strong, cold breeze blew across them, whipping Ukyo’s hair about her face as she began to smile. The edges of Ranma’s vision began to darken and his body started to feel slack. He tried to maintain consciousness, but he felt himself slipping.

“Finally,” Ukyo breathed, her warm tears splashing against his skin and giving him temporary respite from the cold. For a moment he felt really warm and cozy before his body gave out, losing all of its strength and completely collapsing into Ukyo’s arms. Ranma passed out, having held out as long as he could despite reaching his limit ages ago.

* * *

**_Akane's Part_ **

“Get back Akane!” Ranma shouted. Within seconds he had latched onto her, jumped through the air at speeds she didn’t know were possible, and set her down at the edge of the once green forest. Everything had been burned, everything had been destroyed. It was, possibly, how one might imagine hell.

Akane watched on in dread as Happosai threw another fire bomb, striking her father out of the air. He laid on the ground for a few minutes before struggling to get up. Eventually she breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to the battle.

She wanted to help with the fight. But she knew she was outclassed, so for once she listened to Ranma and stood back. Everything happening was her fault. She was fed up with the old geezer’s ways, and upon discovering an unfortunate collection of clothing, she had properly sanitized and disposed of it. But this time Happosai insisted that if what he loves most had to burn, then what they held dearest would burn. It only escalated from there, eventually involving not only the Tendos but all of Nerima’s martial artists.

Akane was snapped out of her trance as she noticed a camp fire that had appeared in the middle of the field. She ran faster than she ever had, noticing poor P-chan out cold, tied up and spinning around over the fire. She couldn’t let her favorite pig be eaten by that lecher.

Quickly rescuing P-chan, she held him close to her chest and ran to retreat. No sooner had she arrived where Ranma had placed her than a huge explosion lit up the area. The shockwave knocked her onto the ground face first, still clutching P-chan for dear life.

Lifting herself back up, she turned around to find a huge crater in the middle of the forest, fire and smoke quickly filling the area. She squinted, trying to see far off in the distance, where she was fairly sure she could see her father and Genma lying unconscious. Dread gripped her heart and her breaths came short and rapid. She looked around for the others. Why couldn’t she see them?

A strong breeze blew by her, startling P-chan awake who began to squeal in her arms.

“It’s, it’s- it’ll be fine P-chan,” she blubbered, trying to reassure the pig. While the pig did calm down in her arms, allowing itself to nuzzle further into her embrace, Akane’s heartbeat only raced faster.

As she scanned the area, desperate to see if there were any survivors, she noticed a shadow leaping rapidly through the smoke. As it did so, it seemed to be twirling some sort of object above its head, which began to clear the polluted air. Akane was standing a few feet short of the crater. At the very edge was Shampoo, one arm clinging to the edge of it facing her. The Amazon warrior was in poor state, her clothes were nearly all the way burnt off and she had a multitude of cuts and gashes upon her body.

Akane rushed over to Shampoo, putting P-chan on the ground, and checked for a pulse. 

Thump. Thu- Thump. 

P-chan squealed and ran over to Akane, nuzzling against the hem of her dress. Akane could hear a faint, slow heartbeat from Shampoo. Even though she was still alive, Akane worried as she looked at Shampoo’s bare body. While there were many minor lacerations, she had a huge gash across her back, a couple pieces of her clothing fluttering about it in the wind. As she tended to Shampoo, she couldn’t help but notice that the young Amazon warrior had other large scars on her body. One across the back of her shoulder, and a particularly nasty stab wound near her belly button. A couple of Akane’s tears fell on Shampoo’s old scars. She would have never believed that she could feel compassion for the girl who had caused her so much trouble, but there was something far too sad about seeing such a young girl already scarred from battle. She shivered as she imagined how Shampoo got the scars, then dismissed the thoughts with the assumption that it was a result of rigorous Amazon training.

Having done what she could for Shampoo, she looked around the battlefield again. The shadow stood in the distance and appeared to be lifting another shadow. Surely it must have been Ranma rescuing someone who was injured. She then spotted another of the fallen in a tree that had miraculously survived the fire bombing. Various instruments laid around Mousse as he dangled from some of his own chains in the tree. He appeared to be breathing, so she ignored him and instead headed over to, against her better judgement, a girl in a leotard laying somewhere in the distance towards the shadows. She didn’t really want to help Kodachi, but she had helped Ranma in the fight - Akane chose to ignore the part where Kodachi tried to drug Ranma and capture him during the mayhem - so she did what she could to patch her up. She did, however, rip the gymnasts’s ribbon. After the hell she’d been put through, she felt it was a fair trade off.

Akane made her way back to Shampoo as the shadow carrying the other shadow came closer. She stared in wonder as it stopped for a moment, then began to sprint. She was so focused on the shadows that she didn’t notice Shampoo’s eyes open, first darting to the girl taking care of her and then to what held Akane’s stare so intensely. As the shadows came into sight, Shampoo’s eyes closed in defeat. Ukyo breezed by them with the girl Ranma in her arms, rushing him to first aid.

Akane noted that Ranma appeared to be passed out. At least she prayed that’s all it was. She didn’t believe Ranma could fall so easily, or rather she didn’t want to believe it. Part of her heart ached to see the currently female Ranma being carried to safety in Ukyo’s arms. It had taken her a long time to admit, but she wished it would have been her saving the female Ranma instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time I'm posting a long-fic for fan fiction. I've never participated that much in fanfiction and have only read a few stories, but decided to go ahead and write a Ranma/Ukyo fanfic after seeing a severe lack of them. I mostly did it just for fun, but also for some writing practice. I hope you can forgive the terrible writing and that you will be able to enjoy the story regardless.
> 
> The story is mostly finished, but I'm doing quite a bit of editing. I'll be posting these chapters ideally once or twice a week. The total chapter count (which could change with editing) will be around 16-18. Currently the story unedited is just around 58k words.
> 
> The story was written with the idea that the reader is unaware of the Akane/Shampoo ship, but I felt it was better to tag it as such. Speaking of tags, I'm new to this so hopefully I did them alright. I also rated this M (though it probably should be T) just in case some things were too mature for some.
> 
> Story is taking place some time after the end of the manga. Hopefully I've managed to keep most characters in line with who they are, but I have a hard time not going OOC. The primary characters in this story are Ranma, Ukyo, Akane, and Shampoo. Everyone else has smaller roles or cameos. I am having a hard time with getting Ranma & Shampoo's accents right, so if they seem off I'd appreciate feedback on them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ranma being OOC is explained in Akane's Part of this chapter.

**_Ranma's Part_ **

Ranma slowly opened his eyes. He could feel a great weight upon him as he tried to survey his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he was back in his male form lying in a small bed. The walls were bland and a skeleton seemed to occupy a corner of the room in his peripheral vision. He figured he must be at Dr. Tofu’s recovering.

The second thing he noticed was the girl sleeping with her head on his chest. He gently lifted the girl’s head, her purple hair swaying around his fingers, and put her firmly back in her chair without waking her up. Shampoo had apparently been keeping watch over him.

As he sat up to look around, he noticed that on the opposite side of the bed, sitting closer to the wall than him, was Akane. She was also sleeping soundlessly. He began to wonder how long he’d been out for them to have already fallen asleep.

He slowly made his way out of bed and opened the door quietly. He danced back and forth a couple times from foot to foot, testing his body to make sure it was working. Perfectly fine. He made his way down the narrow hallway and out into the lobby of Dr. Tofu’s place. But it seemed the doctor was out at the moment, so he decided to make his way back to the room he’d came from. But just then a small jingle sounded as the front door opened. Turning around, Ranma found himself involuntarily smiling as Ukyo entered the clinic.

He immediately noticed that something was off with her. Her step was slow and her usual smile wasn’t there. She was carrying a box, which he presumed carried one of her magnificent okonmiyaki, and was only looking down at the floor. The spatula she normally carried on her back was missing and her clothes were a bit of a mess. Worry suddenly tugged at the martial artist’s heart. It was beating faster than it had any right to do so and his palms were starting to sweat. Ranma had felt perfectly fine, or so he thought, but now he was considering that something was really wrong with him after all.

Ranma walked towards Ukyo to greet her, each step he took painfully awkward, painfully slow. Had he forgotten how to walk? He just needed to get to her, to make sure she was okay, to find out why she was so glum. He knew that showing such concern wasn’t manly, but he still didn’t feel right in the head. Emotions he’d never felt were flowing through him. All he could hope was that soon his brain would kick in again and he’d shove those emotions back down to stay with Happosai in the abyss he was banished to.

Ukyo looked up as he approached. Her eyes widened as she dropped the box she was carrying. A bright smile appeared. Like a knife to the heart, the being that was Ranma collapsed at the sight. It was not a feeling of pain, but rather something foreign. His steps became faster, wider. He had to reach her, to touch her…

“Ranchan! You’re okay!” Ukyo shouted. She didn’t have time to say anything else as Ranma had already arrived at her position and pulled her into a deep hug.

Ranma marveled at the sensation of hugging Ukyo. His arms wrapped around her tighter. There was only one thing going through his mind at the moment. Never let go. He’d missed her so much. When he’d woken up only moments ago, he’d felt empty, hollow. But the minute he saw her it all…

He could hear Ukyo begin to cry, now burying her head in his chest. The emotions flowing through him were now in conflict: To hold Ukyo like this, to each be so vulnerable with each other was amazing. But Ukyo sounded sad and that terrified him. 

“It’s okay, Ucchan,” Ranma whispered, holding her tightly in his arms. He began to stroke Ukyo’s neck with his right hand, while his left patted her shoulder. He didn’t know what was wrong, but it seemed like the best thing to say.

“Is it because of the fight?” he asked her when the tears didn’t stop falling. “It’s not a big deal, Ucchan, this happens all the time. It was just a fight, that we won by the way.”

“Ranma Honey,” Ukyo whimpered. “Do you… do you not know?”

“What?” He was afraid that Mr. Tendo’s injuries may be more serious than he imagined. Pop didn’t really cross his mind.

“You’ve been out of it for four days,” Ukyo cried. While he wasn’t spooked by the news, clearly Ukyo had been concerned. He started to pull away from their hug, hands just about to reach for her cheeks to dry the tears when the commotion started.

“Ranma, you jerk!” he heard Akane yell as he turned around to face her. Ukyo didn’t seem to be in the mood to let go, so he had to tightly grip her and swing her around with him so that he was facing Akane. Ukyo’s grip only became tighter as she clung to him, crumpling his shirt near his navel, her soft fingers digging in to him. He didn’t exactly hate the feeling, but even he knew that this wasn’t appropriate in front of Akane. 

He did love Akane, as much as he regretted to admit it, and it wasn’t fair to keep up these antics after all that had transpired between them. But Ukyo was also his friend, and… He couldn’t remember the other part, but she was important to him and he couldn’t bear to hurt her either. Just the idea of parting with her now was hellish.

As Akane yelled and stomped towards him, he saw Shampoo standing in the corner, shoulders slumped. He’d never actually seen her like that. She seemed defeated. The life in her eyes was gone and she looked as if she had just had the wind knocked out of her. But as soon as her eyes caught his, she perked back up, plastered on what appeared to be a fake smile, and ran towards him.

“Out of way, tomboy!” she growled as she pushed past Akane’s slow march towards Ranma and clung to Ranma from his side. Ukyo was now clinging to his other side, having deftly maneuvered her out of the way of Akane without entirely letting her go. “Airen, Shampoo so happy you live. Shampoo scared husband never wake up.”

Something really wasn’t right with Shampoo, but Ranma didn’t have the time to focus on that. Akane, whose head he had expected to turn red as a tomato in anger, had tears trailing in her wake as she began to run towards Shampoo instead. He managed to peel both girls off of him, deftly moving Ukyo further to his side and out of the way of the inevitable chaos that was about to occur. Akane ran up to kick Shampoo, but the Amazon girl deftly dodged the attack, leaving Ranma open to the unsuspecting blow. Ranma was sent flying through the roof. It’d be at least two more days before he woke up again, but as he flew through the air he began to think. A dangerous thing to do, so he’d been told. Well at least for him. Why was it that he could love someone so much and hate them too?

* * *

**_Akane’s Part_ **

Akane, after having helped everyone left behind at the battlefield, quickly made her way to Dr. Tofu’s clinic. Somewhere along the way P-chan had jumped out of her arms and scurried off somewhere, but she could only focus on whether Ranma was okay. P-chan always found his way back somehow.

As Akane made her way into the clinic and towards the back rooms, she slowed her steps and moved quietly. The sounds of a woman weeping echoed through the quiet of the clinic. That they weren’t cries of pain comforted Akane, until realization washed over her; that was worse. How bad had Ranma been injured? And who was crying? Dread filled her heart as she approached the corner of the hallway. Peeking around, she breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the conversation.

“I’m sorry, Ukyo, but I can’t divulge any of that information to you,” Dr. Tofu said in a professional manner not well suited to the goofy and lighthearted man she knew. The chef in her torn, shredded, and singed outfit, was talking to Dr. Tofu. He had only just finished examining Ranma, but was refusing to tell her any information about Ranma’s condition.

“But I’m his fiancée!” Ukyo protested. Her voice had no trace of anger, but rather quivered with pain and worry. “Don’t I have a right to know how he’s doing?”

“I’m afraid not,” Tofu replied, pushing his glasses up on his forehead. “I can only divulge that to family. Unfortunately with Akane being his primary fiancée in the eyes of the law, you don’t qualify.”

Akane took that moment to come from out of the corner. Ukyo barely glanced at her before staring at the floor. Tears fell from her face and splashed against the wooden boards of the clinic. Akane put a hand on her shoulder, then gazed at Tofu. She wasn’t used to being angry with the man she once thought she had a crush on, but right now she couldn’t understand how he would be so cruel as to keep Ranma’s health from Ukyo.

“Dr. Tofu, please, how is Ranma doing?” Akane asked. Ukyo’s shoulder jerked and Akane removed her hand. Ukyo, as she thought might be the case, wasn’t very pleased with her at the moment.

“Ranma’s stable, Akane,” Dr. Tofu answered. He then looked at Ukyo before turning back to her. “I’m afraid we’ll have to talk in private about the rest. Ukyo looked up, eyes blank, then slowly made her way out of the hall.

“Ukyo, wait! I’ll make sure to tell you-” Akane yelled. Ukyo stopped and held up a hand to signal her to stop talking, then turned around. Empty eyes glared back at her.

“Ranma’s fine, that’s all I need to know,” she said hoarsely. Her tears had stopped all of a sudden. A tiny smirk appeared on her lips, but disappeared a second later. “You don’t need to tell me anything other than when I can visit him.”

With that Ukyo left the clinic, and Dr. Tofu opened the door and led Akane into Ranma’s room. She looked down on him, now in his male form, wrapped in bandages and sleeping. She’d never seen him this injured before.

“Ranma’s alive,” Tofu lead with, raising Akane’s suspicions. Her heart began to beat a little faster. “But he’s not waking up. And I’m not sure how long it’ll take for him to, if ever. We’ll monitor him here for a few days, but if he doesn’t eventually wake up, he’ll have to be moved to a proper hospital.”

Akane let out a silent gasp and sat beside Ranma, grabbing one of his hands. It felt awkward, and perhaps a tad wrong, but she did care about him. She wanted him to get better, and she’d heard that simple things like talking to a patient or physical contact could occasionally help them. Whether there was any truth to that, she didn’t know, and Tofu didn’t seem in any mood to explain.

“There’s another thing, Akane,” Tofu rambled on. “He has some very specific marks on his back. It looks like Happosai tried to apply the Moxibustion of Femininity to Ranma. It serves to make the target feminine from their identity to their behavior and has no known cure.”

Akane swallowed loudly and her hand that was holding Ranma began to sweat. Her heart was now pounding rapidly as she wondered if, when Ranma woke up, he’d be back in the state of thinking he was a girl. She hadn’t particularly enjoyed it when that happened originally, but now… Shaking her head, she stared at Tofu waiting for him to go on, but he only seemed to be staring at Ranma, glasses back on and apparently examining his patient from afar. He appeared to be carefully considering his next words.

“Dr. Tofu, does this mean?” Akane uttered almost inaudibly. Tofu’s attention suddenly snapped back to her, although the quizzical look on his face made her think he hadn’t heard what she’d said.

“Ehm,” Tofu cleared his throat. “The thing is, Akane, that Happosai seems to have failed to finish the moxibustion, and one of the marks is in the wrong spot. While I haven’t found any specific technique that resembles what happened to Ranma, I did find one that was very similar to it when taking the misplaced mark into account. While I believe Happosai was attempting to lock Ranma into his female form, I think he may have accidentally performed a half strength Moxibustion of Emotion. One afflicted with it will have their emotions and uncensored thoughts brought to the surface. It becomes incredibly difficult to suppress how they feel. The only good news to be had is that it slowly wears off over about a year’s time.”

Tofu paused and adjusted his glasses again, then walked over towards Akane and mirrored her actions with Ukyo from before. Compared to her hand which had angered Ukyo, Tofu’s hand was comforting. The stress began to leave her body and her heartbeat was returning to normal. The thoughts she’d had of Ranma staying female began to fade, and she squeezed his hand even tighter, hoping that it might wake him up.

“So Akane, frankly, I don’t know what will happen when Ranma wakes up. But odds are he’ll not be like he normally is, any emotions or thoughts he were suppressing will be floating on the surface of his consciousness. It could be… a very rough adjustment period, especially considering his ‘unique’ circumstances. As his fiancée, I hope you can watch him and make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble.

Tofu smiled, removed his hand from her shoulder, and walked out of the room. Akane kept her eyes on Ranma and prayed he’d wake up. To be honest, she was curious as to what his unfiltered emotions might be like. And she absently thought about what it’d be like if she suffered a similar attack. Would she be able to confess what it was she really felt?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always seem to capitalize okonomiyaki. I can't understand why, but it's annoying when editing.
> 
> Next chapter is very short and will probably be posted this weekend if I have the time to edit it. Later chapters won't be as short.
> 
> Also, I'm finally learning the formatting, so hopefully my line breaks will work correctly.


	3. Chapter 3

Ranma found himself waking up on the tatami next to his father. The elation of defeating Happosai had disappeared and the hole left by that feeling was filling with dread. Ranma made his way to the dojo for his morning practice, careful not to wake anyone on the way. While he didn’t have to worry about Pops, he had woken up Kasumi before. Those couple of times were the only times he had ever seen the light sleeper display a hint of annoyance. Kasumi, as he learned, was not a morning person. It was best to tread carefully and not greet her until she served breakfast, when she seemed ready to greet everyone for the day.

Finishing his workout he showered and then went to eat. As he dug in, he looked across the table, eyes locking with Kasumi’s. She smiled, no trace of anger or displeasure at all on her face. He wanted to know what her secret was between waking up and preparing their morning meal, but as he pondered the reasons a not too uncommon event occurred. It was unfortunate, too, because he was only half way through the exquisite breakfast Kasumi had made for the morning.

Flying from behind him and landing in the middle of the table, knocking over a couple of uneaten bowls of meat, was a large okonomiyaki with a heart on it. Kasumi let out a small sigh as she moved to pick up the meat off the floor, but before she could reach it, Genma had already begun eating it off the ground, invoking the ten second rule. Soun, as if a lightbulb had appeared above his head, quickly began to duel Genma with his chopsticks for the meat. Nabiki scowled, watching the two fathers getting increasingly angry over who got the floor meat, seemingly in disbelief that she could respect them any less than she already did. Ignoring their antics, Ranma looked back at the okonomiyaki, ready to dig in, and then noticed that attached to the okonomiyaki was a letter for him.

“Hi Ranma Honey!” it stated. The letter was clearly from Ukyo, a surprise as these type of antics were so much more often Kuno or Kodachi’s doing. “Meet me at my shop after school. I have something important to tell you. -Ukyo”

Ranma crumpled up the note and pulled the okonomiyaki to himself. Taking a bite, it tasted as delicious as it always was. This particular version, what Ukyo called the Half Special, had been named after him when he told Ukyo it was his favorite. Ranma sometimes wondered if the engagement to Ukyo wasn’t such a bad thing; certainly it’d be better than having to eat Akane’s cooking. But he quickly shook his head, dismissing those thoughts. Ukyo was just a good friend, one of many that Pops had scammed.

* * *

Akane slowly walked to school. Though Ranma had recently recovered, it had been a few weeks before then that they stopped walking there together. As she walked, she stared at the ground and would occasionally kick a stray pebble at the nearby walls. If she could get the pebble to ricochet in the right direction, it was +1 point, if the pebble broke it was +2, and if it made a weak rebound it was -1 points. It was an old game she played to entertain herself until Ranma and his circus had shown up. 

Being engaged to Ranma certainly wasn’t easy, but Akane couldn’t help but feel guilty over Ranma’s most recent injury. He helped put away the old lecher, but all she could do was injure him again. For those two days that he didn’t wake up, she was seriously scared she had injured the man that she thought invincible. She nibbled on her lower lip as she considered her actions, then consoled herself that it was really Shampoo’s fault. Akane was aware that she may have an anger issue herself, but it was Shampoo who was a real pain. The kick was meant for her after all, if she hadn’t dodged, her precious “Airen” wouldn’t have been injured.

“Nihao! Tomboy!” Shampoo chirped right on cue, her bike skidding to a halt next to Akane. Akane paused in the street and looked at Shampoo, sighed, and then continued walking to school. She wondered if perhaps the Chinese girl was a demon, and just thinking her name twice had been enough to summon her.

Akane kept her head down as Shampoo walked her bike next to her. Stealing a quick glance, trying to figure out Shampoo’s intentions, she was struck with an awe inducing vision. Shampoo was, somehow, radiant. Her purple hair was fluttering about in the wind, her eyes so bright that their reflection threatened to make Akane trip over her own feet. The thought had never really crossed her mind, but now that she was seeing Shampoo like this, she couldn’t help it. Why wouldn’t Ranma choose her? She was beautiful. She knew how to cook. She was a great martial artist. She had connections. Cologne had already taught Ranma so much. And… Akane’s head slumped even lower. And, she figured, it must be nice to have someone who doesn’t always get mad, misunderstand, and take out their aggression on you.

“Shampoo challenge Akane for dual to death after school.” They had both stopped again and were staring at each other. Akane’s body started to shake. She was so tired of Shampoo and her threats. And just when she was thinking Shampoo wasn’t so bad, it all came back around to Ranma. Her fists balled up as she pondered whether the time had come for her to reveal one of her secrets.

“Shampoo, you know what, take Ranma, okay,” Akane said with a smile, resuming her walk to school. She really didn’t want to fight Shampoo anymore, and frankly she was tiring of the whole fiancée fight to the death shtick.

“This good news, but still must fight to death,” Shampoo nodded. Akane noticed that Shampoo seemed to be sweating despite the cool breeze. And anytime Akane motioned towards her, she seemed to put as much distance between them as Akane was closing in on. As the sweat glistened on Shampoo’s porcelain skin, she was tempted to just ignore the Amazon. She was too tired to fight. But she knew Shampoo, and knew this wasn’t going to end so easily.

“Fine Shampoo, after school, my dojo. You want a fight to the death, you’ve got it.” Akane moaned. Shampoo just watched her, a slight hint of curiosity dotting her face. Akane figured it was because Shampoo hadn’t expected for her to just accept a challenge like that. “I’m tired of dealing with you Shampoo. So- so tired. I don’t want to fight you to the death, but I will beat you regardless, so I’m not worried. When I do win-”

“Good!” Shampoo chirped. Akane’s eye started to twitch at the rude interruption. “Tomboy talk big game when she only lose.”

“Shampoo, when I WIN, I want you removed from my life entirely. I don’t care if you pursue Ranma, I don’t care if you go back to the Amazons. But to me you’ll be dead. I’m done with your antics, I’m done with your pseudo homicidal impulses.”

Akane growled and then marched away from Shampoo. The Amazon girl had stopped following, hopping back on her bike and heading in the opposite direction. Akane tried to clear her head, but it was no good. The guilt over Ranma had been replaced with a feeling she couldn’t grasp yet. What she’d just witnessed was gnawing at the back of her mind, giving her endless amounts of unrest on her way to school. For a split second, Shampoo had frowned when Akane had told her off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, "Half Special" is a terrible name. But I couldn't come up with anything better. I've just been drawing a blank.
> 
> Kasumi will have some "extra" dimensions to her personality, but I do hope she still feels like the Kasumi from canon. Of the side characters in this story, she has the most significant role.
> 
> Still playing around with formatting, so forgive me if some chapters have different formatting than others. I think I've got it down now, but we'll see. If my formatting sucks, let me know.
> 
> Next chapter will be a flashback in both parts.


	4. Chapter 4

#### ~6 Months before Happosai's Banishment

“Hello valued customer-” Ukyo began as Ranma walked through the door. Upon seeing him, she dropped the change she had been counting and smiled. Beckoning him to take a seat, Ukyo deftly prepared the Half Special for Ranma. 

He had stopped by after Ukyo had asked him to while they were at school. But as he sat down and watched her cook, he could see that something about her face wasn’t normal. She looked distant. A stark contrast to her invitation that she delivered with a chipper smile earlier in the day.

“One Half Special, for my fiancé,” Ukyo said with a wink, putting the food in front of him. Ranma started eating it, giving Ukyo his compliments. And he noticed, bobbing his head side to side, that despite all of the other customers eating away at the okonomiyaki they’d been served, and all of the exclamations and compliments they were giving the chef, Ukyo’s eyes were only locked on him. She served the other customers when need be, but after the minimal required eye contact and words, her attention would always snap right back to him.

“Ranchan,” Ukyo started while watching him eat. Her tone was low and serious. She moved sideways to flip over another okonomiyaki as she talked, doing so effortlessly and without breaking eye contact. “I think it’s time you finally came to me as your fiancée. Break your engagement with Akane and marry me instead.” A small smirk escaped her lips.

Ranma spit out a little food in reply, then grinned goofily as he quickly cleaned it up. He started to sweat and began having a hard time meeting her eyes. He had never felt this state of panic before. Ranma steeled himself, realizing that this wasn’t any different than all the times before. It might get a little chaotic, but it would soon resolve itself and everything would go back to normal.

“Ucchan, I-I-I-” he stuttered. He didn’t want to tell her now despite how he felt about Akane. And he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. If there was anything he was certain about, it was that his heart might break if he had to make Ukyo cry.

“Ranma.” Ranma jumped back a bit as the Okonomiyaki Chef stood straight up, something akin to a battle aura blazing all around her. He’d never seen Ukyo like this before. “I’m serious Ranma. If- If you can’t answer me, then I…”

Ukyo’s words dropped off, her body slouched, and her aura disappeared. She pushed her hand across the table groggily and grabbed Ranma’s. A shock went through his whole body at her touch. He tried to jerk his hand away from her, but her grip became firmer, holding him in place. It wasn’t rough, however. Somehow, no matter how strong she gripped his hand, it was filled with kindness and love.

“Ranma.” Tears began to leak out of Ukyo’s eyes. “You can’t say it, can you? You love Akane, right?”

Her hand slackened and then released him, leaving him feeling cold. Ranma couldn’t understand why, but he was starting to get an urge to take her hand back. But he loved Akane, he couldn’t do that. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

“Psh, as if. Why would I love that tomboy?!” He laughed, simultaneously covering his own feelings while trying to make Ukyo feel a little better. Dread began to weigh down his gut when he noticed that his words had only made her sadder. The couple tears she had begun to shed turned into a river as she slammed her fists against the bar, recomposing herself. About a minute later she sniffled and wiped her eyes, looked Ranma directly in the eyes, and continued.

“That’s what I thought.” She said dejectedly. “You really do love her, don’t you, Ranma? Did I ever have a chance?”

“What are you talking about?” Ranma was perplexed. Some part of him knew those weren’t the words he should be saying now, but his psyche wouldn’t stay intact if he acknowledged how much he’d hurt Ukyo by stringing her along. She was such a great friend, how was he supposed to reject her? And besides, he enjoyed every ounce of attention she gave him. Unlike some of his other suitors, she was the sane, mostly non-homicidal one. And the only one he could actually call a friend.

“Ranma.” Ukyo sighed. She looked like she was about to collapse. Ranma almost jumped across the bar to catch her, but she grabbed the edge of it and held herself up. “I got an offer to cook okonomiyaki for some pretty big name people. I’d be touring the world and bringing the joys of okonomiyaki to every person on this planet. But I’ll have to leave Nerima, for a long time.”

“That’s great, Ucchan!” Ranma replied happily. All of the negative emotions he’d been experiencing disappeared. Ukyo was being dramatic, she’d just wanted him to know the news. He was really happy for her. All of the awkwardness would be forgotten by tomorrow.

“I don’t think you get it,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. Saying it seemed to scare her, as if once it was voiced it would become reality. “I’ll be gone for a long time. This might be my dream, but I still want you, Ranma. More than anything, I want you to be my fiancé. But I want to be your only fiancée, your only suitor. I’d gladly pass on this opportunity if you felt the same way. We’re still young, I’m sure the delicious flavors and cheap prices of my okonomiyaki will allow me to come across such chances in the future. But I can’t pass on this, not if you can’t choose me.”

Ukyo’s head hung low as she stared at the ground. Ranma sat in stunned silence, not really sure what to say. He loved Akane. He really did. He couldn’t betray her like that. But… Ukyo was his oldest, his best friend.

* * *

#### ~5 Months before Happosai's Banishment

Akane watched Ranma gulp down his rice as she cautiously used her chopsticks to tease at her food. She hadn’t been feeling very good for the past few mornings; her and Ranma’s relationship had been on a roller coaster ride and she really didn’t know what to think or feel anymore. Bereft as she was to admit it to anyone else, she had finally been able to realize she loved Ranma. But she didn’t know if he felt the same way towards her. And… something about it also felt off. That was the best way to describe the feeling. She felt things for Ranma, but were those feelings really love?

Akane balled her left hand into a fist under the table, angry at herself for wavering on her feelings again. Looking to distract herself, she looked about the table to see what the others might be thinking about. Her dad had the newspaper wide open, pretending like he was reading it seriously. But Akane suspected he wasn’t actually reading the news, especially considering that his face would occasionally distort with a small smile. Just like Mr. Panda, Dad would want to seem smart despite the fact that he was reading the comic section.

She also noticed Ranma staring at the headline curiously. When she saw the familiar face, she had already regretted concentrating on anything other than her eating. Of course he would only be thinking of “her.” 

_‘World Class Okonomiyaki Chef serves up a winning dish to the G7 leaders’_ the headline read. His eyes screamed of a lost passion, a strange longing for the Okonomiyaki Chef. Tears threatened to stream from her face, and rather than ask Ranma to confirm her worst fears, she rose from the table and left the room. Once out of sight, she punched at the wall. She was actually happy for Ukyo and her success, even if she hated the woman’s guts for vying for her fiancé.

Akane made her way to the dojo to practice. As she was nearing her final set of workouts, she spotted Ranma in the corner of her eye. He had stopped to watch her, seemingly admiring the power that she exuded with her movement. She wondered if he had ever realized her secret, but if he had, then she figured he wouldn’t be standing over there at the moment.

Akane finished and looked over to see Ranma. She immediately blushed before her face contorted, in classic Akane style, and she ran over shouting at him. A weird combination of embarrassment, lust, and anger had seized her at the thought of him watching all of her movements.

“Idiot!” she yelled. “Didn’t anyone teach you not to watch-”

Ranma jumped forward quickly to catch Akane as she tripped. A bucket of cold water, for some inexplicable reason that had been at the edge of the dojo, splashed over both of them as she stumbled over it. The girl Ranma was now holding Akane in his arms.

He looked down at her, and upon seeing how red her face was, helped to steady her on her feet. He jumped back a bit, causing a tinge of guilt to flood her mind. He was acting nervously, as if trying to figure out what he’d done wrong to earn her ire this time. _This time_ , Akane thought, _this time_. Why had it always been like this those other times? And why did his transformation suddenly calm her? 

“Look, I wasn’t, well I was… But,” he stammered trying to explain to Akane. She must have started to look increasingly on edge. She couldn’t blame him for thinking that way, but the overwhelming heat possessing her was not one of anger. She looked down at the floor and began approaching him. “You looked really cool. I was just admiring your skill.”

“Ahem,” she nodded, still slowly approaching him. It wasn’t like he walked in on her in the bath, she was just practicing martial arts. So why did she always get so angry, so flustered? Time seemed to be moving slower for her as she approached him, and her breaths were getting closer and closer together. Every nerve in her body was screaming that this was all a mistake, that she shouldn’t, that she couldn’t-

“I’m sorry, Akane, you looked so beauti-” he began, but swallowed the words. She could tell that he still had a hard time admitting his feelings. They were alike in that regard. “Heh, you looked cool, at least for an uncute tomboy.” He was trying to cover his feelings while attempting to give her some justifiable reason to be upset, she realized.

Ranma winced as Akane got near enough to kick him. She knew he wasn’t afraid of her kicks, in fact she suspected that he tried to goad her into doing so on multiple occasions. For what reason, she had no clue, but he always seemed to take an interest in her whenever she showed the slightest hint of martial prowess and always seemed sad when she tried to hide it. But when she had been more powerful than him on those couple occasions, his ego had been unable to handle it. And so she made sure to restrict her full power, mostly for other reasons, but partly because she was scared that if revealed it could come between her and Ranma. She wasn’t in denial, she knew she couldn’t even compare to Ranma, but she figured she was at least decent enough to fight some of the others like Shampoo or Ukyo.

Akane moved towards Ranma and placed her lips on his. Ranma’s eyes opened in surprise. Still in his girl form, just slightly shorter than Akane, he was suddenly looking at her to find their faces meshed together. It wasn’t a simple kiss. She had grabbed him and pulled him into herself, kissing him greedily, wanting even more of him with her. For a moment she nearly pulled back out of embarrassment, and for a moment she wondered if she should stop when Ranma didn’t kiss her back, but her fears were quickly dismissed when his feminine lips moved in tandem with hers. The strangest of feelings were washing over Akane, from expected excitement and pleasure to the unexpected fulfillment, as if what she’d been longing to express for a lifetime had finally been revealed.

For what felt like eternity, they kissed. And then Akane’s lips broke apart from his and they were left standing in the morning sunlight streaming into the dojo. They were both short of breath and both of their bodies were shaking a little.

Ranma sat down and leaned back against the wall, after which she followed suit. She’d wanted to do that for so long. She hadn’t even realized that’s what she’d wanted. But it was. As she contemplated this, Ranma’s hand slid next to hers and she gripped it. He squeezed her hand while she closed her eyes, trying to bring herself back into balance. She had just thrown herself for a loop. And she hoped she’d taken him with her.

“I’m sorry,” he said after a couple minutes of silence. They were still holding each other’s hands and staring up at the ceiling blankly.

“Why?” Akane asked, looking over at him confused.

“Well, because we’re both girls right now,” he answered, clearly resisting the urge to rub the back of his head with his hand. She was glad he did as she wasn’t ready to let go of him just yet. She squeezed his currently delicate, feminine hand at his words and just looked at him, as if debating whether she should say what she was about to.

“Ranma?” she whispered nearly inaudibly. He looked right into her eyes. “I… I… um…”

“What?” he prodded her gently, a stupid grin on her, no his, face she reminded herself. But…

“It’s well, um,” Akane continued to stammer. Finally she took a big breath, looked directly into his eyes, and began to say what was on her mind. “That’s nothing to be sorry for, Ranma.” 

A blush crept across her entire face as she let go of his hand and looked away. Her voice was beginning to sound like it was on the edge of tears. She hated that, but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming emotion that had enraptured her. “Ranma?”

“Yeah,” he whispered, reaching out and grabbing her hand again.

“Ranma, I actually prefer it like that,” Akane said before she began to cry. He leaned over and pulled her into his side to hug her.

“What do ya mean?”

“I’m glad we kissed as two girls,” Akane mumbled. She started to sob and buried her face into his chest. It was different than the times it had happened before, the times when he’d be rescuing her from this or that and she’d have little option but to rest her head there. Rather than something hard and solid, it was soft and gentle and… Her reddened face would have been blushing if not for all the crying that was already staining it.

“What?” was all Ranma could seem to say. He must have realized that it might have not sounded as nice as he intended, so he followed up in a more soothing tone. “What do ya mean, Akane? I don’t understand.” 

His voice comforted Akane and her resolve began to build again. Her sobbing had started to slow, Ranma having handed her a handkerchief, and she was back to crying lightly.

“I love you, Ranma.” She said after sniffling and wiping her face with a handkerchief. She didn’t really want to know where Ranma had pulled that out from. “But… I… It’s better when you’re in your female form. Whenever I see you as a guy, I don’t know, I just, I don’t know what it is but I don’t feel like this.” Akane said. She seemed really sad. “Ranma, please don’t tell my family.”

Ranma stared at her, watching her begging to not say anything. For as dense as he could be, understanding was creeping onto his face. But with that came a sad look, a terrible look, the thing she knew was coming but didn’t want to admit. The reason why she should have never brought any of this up in the first place.

“But Akane, I’m a guy,” he stated, apparently unsure of where the conversation was going. Akane pulled away from him and wiped her eyes of the tears that had reappeared. 

“I know,” Akane sniffled. “I do love you Ranma, but… I want a woman in my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, "Half Special" is lame, and yes, I'm going to continue to hate myself for not coming up with something better.
> 
> In editing news, the urge to capitalize okonomiyaki was strong in this chapter, hopefully it's all been corrected. Also the whole fiancée vs fiancé thing drives me insane, but hopefully I've used it right throughout this story. I understand the difference, but it gets confusing to write with. Why doesn't English have neutral words for things like fiancé, nephew, or aunt? They sound like French loan words, so I guess I'll blame French with my limited understanding of linguistics.
> 
> My ability to write romantic scenes is unfortunately poor, though I suppose it's better than my ability to write martial arts scenes. I think I've done better in this story than I have in most, so that's improvement. I think...
> 
> Back to the story as scheduled next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Me and Romance scenes, name a worse combination
> 
> Also Me: Me and Martial Arts scenes.
> 
> We’re back to the present with this chapter.

“Ranchan!” Ukyo shouted, running at him and hugging him as soon as he made his way into her shop. The bow she often wore fell off her head as she wrapped her arms around him. Quickly kicking the loose accessory out of their way, she looked up into his eyes for a brief moment, and then laid her head against his chest.

“U-U-Ucchan.” His body felt warm and his arms that were hanging at his sides suddenly felt limp and awkward. He had never had an experience like this before. Not once in his life had anything ever made him feel this flustered. Inferior, hopeless, weak, yes. But unable to think, at a loss for words, powerless to move. It simply wasn’t a condition that should exist in someone as battle hardened as himself.

A few tears fell helplessly from Uyko’s eyes, her arms constricting around him with ferocious strength. He brought his hands up from his side, wrapping his right around Ukyo and using his left to caress the back of her shoulder. For a moment, he thought the least he could do was console her for whatever she was going through, but as he held her other thoughts began to pop into his mind. His hands were wanting to slide places they shouldn’t. And confliction. She was just a friend, but her head buried in his chest was an indescribable feeling, and he was wanting to gently cup her cheeks and pull her in for a kiss. Ranma quickly shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts that wouldn’t stop coming.

He bent his head down, carefully smelling her hair and relishing in her usual okonomiyaki scent. He had never paid attention to it before, but that smell, Ukyo’s smell, was a calming one. Even if it also had the side effect of making him hungry. A small rumble escaped his stomach. The once tearful Ukyo had removed her head from his chest - curse his stomach, he had been enjoying her warmth - and began to laugh. A few seconds later and their embrace had been broken, with Ukyo grinning from head to toe.

“Got the message, Ranchan,” Ukyo giggled, making her way back to the bar. “I’ll whip up an okonomiyaki right away. Wait just a bit!”

As Ranma took his seat at the bar, he looked around the small but cozy restaurant and noticed it was empty. Looking back towards the door he could see the sign read ‘Open’ and it was only then that he realized Ukyo had closed the restaurant in order to have this meeting. Whatever it was, he knew it must be important. But with as dense as he was, he knew he had little chance in figuring out what she wanted. All he could do was think of their embrace as he waited, tugging on his shirt to try to cool himself off.

“One okonomiyaki coming up!” Ukyo cheered, placing it in front of Ranma. He didn’t hesitate to begin eating, each bite reminding him of how wonderful her cooking was. Especially after having had to eat so much of Akane’s, it was nice that his friend - the word didn’t sound right, but Ranma pressed on with his thoughts - that Ukyo could cook well.

Ukyo stood across the counter as he ate, making him feel equal parts embarrassed to be watched and guilty that he was the only one eating. And as he ate, they made small talk, talking about the weather, how business had been, and how his training had been lately. Ukyo seemed to be bursting with energy and he knew that there was something she wanted to say, but just when would she-

“I love you,” Ukyo sighed, leaning on the counter. Her eyes, locked on him, sent a warm feeling from his stomach to his chest. He began to choke and pound on his chest. His brain felt like it was on fire and he had no clue how to respond to what she’d just said. He couldn’t even understand why he was reacting in this manner.

“Um, Ucchan, why are you-” he stammered, trying to talk while chewing on large bites of the okonomiyaki. Ukyo just smiled at him.

“Because I realized I didn’t say it back.”

For a moment they stared at each other in silence. The half chewed food just sitting in his mouth that was left slightly agape.

“Say what back?”

“Come on, you know what, don’t make a girl have to say it,” Ukyo said playfully.

“Ucchan, what did I say?” Ranma continued to choke on his previous bite, gulping down a large amount of water to clear his throat. He set down his utensils and stopped eating so they could talk without any interruptions.

Ukyo’s entire demeanor changed. She went from unadulterated happiness to anger to confusion and finally settled on embarrassment.

“You… you said… well… you said you love me,” she whispered, as if the words she were saying were taboo. Her index fingers began to tap against each other.

“Wh-when?”

“After Happosai’s fight, I-”

Silence filled the room once again as his hand shot towards hers, wrapping around it to stop her nervous tapping. Ukyo stood in quiet shock as Ranma gently moved her hand towards him and his fingers caressed her palm, before setting their hands down with their fingers locked together on the table. Vague memories of the aftermath of the battle returned to Ranma’s mind. And what stood out most was how comfortable and safe he had felt in Ukyo’s arms. He could remember how hard it was for him to stay conscious, he could remember how he had been glad he’d been injured if it meant being carried by her. He remembered the tears falling from her eyes, he remembered the smoke stained clothes she was wearing, the ruined spatula, and her lips. Why could he remember that? Why would he remember that?

Ranma used his free hand to pull at his hair. He felt as if the Ranma he’d always known was disappearing, being replaced by this… wuss. But was it wrong for him to feel this way? Was he any less of a man? Would his mom force him to commit seppuku?

Ranma slowly let got of Ukyo’s hand and stood away from the counter to let himself take in her visage. She was incredibly beautiful, far more so than he could ever recall her being. Or was it that he had only just noticed that now? But he wasn’t comfortable with these thoughts, and he didn’t-

The memory hit him like a ton of bricks. Or, perhaps more aptly he mused, one of Akane’s famous kicks. For a brief moment, amid the smoke, chaos, and pain, he felt entirely at peace. He felt, weirdly, like himself. One would think one always feels like themselves, but it was just… There had been no barrier between his thoughts, his emotions, and his desires. No repression of things others may find disturbing, no denial of that which made him uncomfortable. And in that moment of pure bliss, his consciousness on the brink, the words had escaped his lips. The words he had held in for so long. The words he could never admit to himself.

Ranma’s feet moved without his permission. Ukyo was standing behind the bar like a deer caught in the headlights. He crossed through the partition and over to Ukyo’s side, stopping right in front of her. He was looking down, trying to meet her eyes, but she was suddenly shy and kept her gaze down, cheeks blushing furiously.

Ranma extended his hands and gently placed them on her face, pulling it up to look right at him. When he had met her again after all those years, he’d only been happy to have an old friend back. He hadn’t felt this way. He hadn’t…

His hands slowly guided her face towards his. He’d been involved with Akane for so long, and all of the attempts by his suitors had turned him off from the idea of dating. Though Ukyo never bothered him. But he had loved Akane, so he couldn’t…

“Ranchan,” Ukyo breathed, close enough that he could feel it on his face. His gut tightened for a moment and he started to let himself go. He was letting go of everything that had been holding him back. A small part of him tried to stop it, but… Ukyo’s lips were so close. When he made Ukyo cry before, and had rejected her, he had never been able to forgive himself. But he loved Akane, so he had to… But could someone love two people? No, so it had to be Akane. But…

Their lips met. An ecstasy he’d never experienced seized his body as they slowly moved their lips against each other. The kiss lasted only a couple seconds before they broke apart. _No I can’t say it_ he thought. _But why? Why can’t I? I-I-_

“I love you too,” Ranma whispered, pulling Ukyo into a hug. Her arms came up to his shoulders to return the hug and he reveled in her heat, her smell, and the weight pressing into him. He couldn’t understand how he said it. Or even why. But he had and he meant it.

After another minute they broke apart and stared a bit awkwardly at each other.

“Now what?” Ukyo asked.

Ranma scratched the back of his head, then smiled.

“Guess we should go on a date,” he grinned.

“That’s not the most romantic way to ask a girl out, Ranchan, but since it’s the first time-”

Ukyo wasn’t able to finish her sentence. The breath was knocked out of her as her body was raised into the air. Any protest she had disappeared as Ranma carried her in his arms.

“Ucchan, let’s go on a date!” Ranma said triumphantly, as if it was a great accomplishment to ask a simple question. He knew he’d done the right thing when her smirk turned into a beaming grin. “You want to go now?”

“Of course not, Ranma honey!” Ukyo squealed while playfully hitting his chest. It was a pleasant sensation, he realized, for the woman he loved to hit him playfully rather than with the full force of a brick. Ukyo’s face contorted slightly. She probably hadn’t meant to squeal and was feeling embarrassed, but that only made her cuter to him. 

“A girl’s got to get ready!” she said in a significantly lower voice. But despite her best efforts, even he could hear the excitement bleeding through her defenses. That feeling of peace and tranquilness he’d felt back at the battle returned, if only partially, and he gently placed Ukyo back on her feet. For Ranma Saotome, martial arts or dodging fiancées were the only things ever on his mind; but now all he could think of was their upcoming date. For perhaps the first time in his life, the martial artist found himself giddy with happiness.

* * *

Akane leaned her back against the wall and looked around the dojo. As she waited for Shampoo, her mind began to drift. She couldn’t help but remember the times as a child that she’d train in here. She often found herself coming here when she was stressed. And that old, foolish child had thought once upon a time that this would be her dojo. Surely her father would come around to leaving the dojo to the only martial artist in the family.

He hadn’t though. Ranma was the rude awakening that shattered her dreams. She was simply an object to be married off and Ranma would inherit the dojo. She didn’t get a choice in the matter. In her further rumination, while beginning to tap her foot in anticipation of Shampoo’s late arrival, she remembered how well she initially got along with the girl Ranma. It was only when she learned of who he really was, and why he was really there, that she began to hate him. And that was when the revelation hit her: Ranma and her had gotten off on the wrong foot because of their dads. It wasn’t Ranma she had an issue with. She liked Ranma, but she hated what he stood for. Their love-hate relationship was finally making sense.

All of these thoughts inevitably led her back to that scary, humiliating moment from a few months ago in this very dojo. She had opened up to Ranma and told him who she truly was, what she actually wanted. And it was painful, but it freed both of them. Their love-hate dynamic had never been the epitome of a healthy relationship. If she had realized all of this earlier, perhaps their interactions wouldn’t have been so heated.

Akane, now blushing from remembering those memories, sighed in defeat. She knew that her and Ranma simply weren’t compatible. But still it embarrassed her to even think he’d stay as a female forever for her. What even was that logic? It was a stupid, selfish request, but she was glad that he hadn’t tried to punish her for it; rather, in a very uncharacteristic fashion, he’d been willing to listen and had kept her secret ever since.

When would Shampoo arr-

“Tomboy die now!” Shampoo shouted as she leaped from god knows where, interrupting Akane’s thought process. She’d been so lost in it that she had totally tuned out the room and only realized Shampoo’s presence seconds before her punch.

Akane took the punch from the right side of the face and went flying through the dojo to the corner of the wall. Shampoo was already advancing on her, moving faster than a normal human should be capable of, but Akane was quick to her feet and managed to dodge the roundhouse kick heading for her torso.

She prepared a fist to strike back, but before she could blink Shampoo jumped in the air, extended her leg, and kicked her backwards yet again. Akane fell to the floor but wasn’t quick enough to get up, Shampoo coming right up on her, raising her fist high into the air, and then bringing it straight down towards her heart.

Time slowed down as everything happened. She hadn’t even fought and the battle was decided. Shampoo’s battle aura was glowing and there was no hint of a smile. Shampoo wasn’t playing and Akane’s eyes grew wide in fear as she recognized the technique. She only knew of it because she’d seen Ranma studying it, trying to understand how to defend against it. It was a simple move, but lightening quick, which ripped out the opponent’s heart.

Shampoo’s fist slowly inched towards her as she sat on the floor and took a deep breath. Or at least she tried, but everything that was happening was happening within only about a second, faster than most humans could perceive. Akane was helpless, she hadn’t expected Shampoo to be so relentless, so she closed her eyes and accepted her fate. She could feel the change in air pressure as Shampoo’s fist neared her heart, only a few millimeters from her body. Shampoo’s face was etched in the encroaching darkness behind her closing eyelids, a face contorted in pain. Shampoo’s hair was disheveled, something she’d never seen from the Amazon warrior, and her mouth hung expressionless as she delivered the cold blow. The slightest hint of moisture dotted the corner of Shampoo’s eyes, as light and small as dew on the grass.

Akane was breathing hard. Shampoo’s fist had stopped the exact moment before making contact and both of them remained frozen in place. A tear fell from Shampoo’s eye as she looked away from Akane, then removed her fist and fell on her knees. Akane sat, stunned, as she heard the beginnings of the proud Amazon warrior crying. For a moment, she could finally understand why Ranma never seemed to reject her or Ukyo. Watching them cry like that, even if she didn’t know the reason, was one of the most terrible sights she ever beheld.

“Shampoo sorry,” Shampoo sobbed. “But Shampoo must kill Akane. Is orders.” That was all the time Shampoo spared for crying, rising to her feet and wiping her eyes. “Shampoo sorry, Akane. But Shampoo must fulfill duty to Amazon elders.”

Akane stood up and stared at Shampoo, who was already entering a fighting stance.

“If this is about Ranma, then I’ve got-”

“No talk, must fight!” Shampoo wailed, still not done crying it seemed.

“Then can’t we at least not fight to the death! Shampoo, listen to-”

Shampoo swung a leg at Akane, interrupting the speech she was trying to make. But this time Akane wasn’t caught unaware. She’d already revealed one of her greatest secrets to Ranma. And now was the time to reveal the other.

Akane’s body felt like it was on fire. Every nerve in her body reacted at speeds only known to the martial artists of Nerima. She quickly leapt back. Each swing, each kick, she leapt out of the way. Shampoo’s movement’s became faster, more erratic. A right cross, dodged, left fist flying towards her face blocked by Akane’s right arm, then countered with a strong punch to the gut with her left fist. She’d landed the first punch on Shampoo, who had failed to land even a single punch. And all of this was happening within the span of seconds, their movements nothing but a blur to any outsiders watching.

“Tomboy can fight,” Shampoo scoffed, readying herself to attack again. But Akane didn’t let her, she rushed in and pressed her advantage. She punched with her right fist, but as Shampoo went to parry it, she grabbed Shampoo’s hand around the wrist with her other. Maintaining her grip, she quickly moved behind Shampoo, dragging the wayward arm with her and forcing it behind Shampoo’s back, bending it up slightly. For a brief moment, Akane considered breaking it, but she suspected that despite Shampoo’s assertions, Shampoo didn’t intend to use lethal force. If she were to kill Akane, it would have already happened.

Shampoo managed to somehow jump backwards towards the wall, trying to sandwich Akane between herself and it. Akane felt the impact as the pain ran up her spine, but after releasing Shampoo’s arm she managed to get right back on her feet and came face to face with Shampoo. Their battle auras were glowing strong as ever, something that caused shock in Shampoo’s eyes. No one had known Akane had that kind of battle aura or even mastery of ki techniques.

Their fists began to fly, both rapidly punching and blocking one another. The occasional punch made its way through on each of them, causing large swaths of stinging pain. Akane started to tire, though, and more of Shampoo’s hits were beginning to land. With each punch, she felt her body wear down. But despite what seemed a threat of imminent defeat for Akane, there was something else nagging at her consciousness. 

Shampoo’s face was stone cold. Her usual expressive nature had disappeared and her face didn’t betray a hint of emotion, neither adoration, anger, nor happiness. And then she noticed it for the second time. Their clothes had been torn here and there during the fight and Shampoo’s belly exposed. The old stab wound, the one she’d seen on that awful day, glistened with sweat. It still irritated her that such a beautiful woman would be so cruelly scarred.

One of Shampoo’s hits landed straight into her face and sent her flying back against the wall yet again. Akane had been too distracted by Shampoo’s scar - yes, only her scar, she mused - and her defenses had fallen. Akane sat helpless as the Amazon warrior came in for a second time to deliver the finishing blow. But Shampoo’s movements didn’t indicate the lethal move she’d used before and instead a fist came flying at Akane’s face again. It was a knockout punch.

Akane spotted and quickly snatched up a 5 yen coin lying on the floor near her. She wasn’t going to lose so easily. So she did the only logical thing. She clenched every muscle in her body, used every ounce of her ki that she had left, barely got on her feet, and jumped straight at Shampoo’s fist. The hit connected with her, but not as one might expect. Rather than Shampoo’s fist hitting her, she hit it with her head and sent Shampoo flying through the air. As Akane started to black out, she took solace in watching the coin she had flicked bounce off of Shampoo’s forehead, making a loud ding and leaving a very red mark on the slouched over Amazon. Akane couldn’t believe it, she’d won. She’d had to embrace the Anything Goes style of martial arts, willing to use anything and everything to win, martial prowess be damned. She hadn’t wanted to use it, but the victory felt so… _It felt… It felt, wait what was I?_ Akane’s thoughts collapsed in on herself as the world spun one last time. Her body crashed to the floor in the middle of the dojo, both girls out cold.

Akane slowly opened her eyes. Her body was aching from the fight with Shampoo and she felt cold. And something else felt off. She was looking at the world sideways. The once bright dojo was now pitch dark, save a flickering light that her dad refused to replace.

Akane felt strangely comfortable, and despite the cold, her head felt warm. And safe. She wanted to be angry that no one had come by the dojo to help her out, but the cushion on which she was laying began to move ever so slightly. Akane shifted around and lifted her head just slightly, dumbfounded when she realized she’d been laying on a sleeping Amazon’s lap.

Shampoo had apparently heard her stir and began to wake up herself. Their clothes were torn, far worse than Akane thought they’d been, with Shampoo’s entire midriff bare and Akane’s sleeves completely gone, revealing Akane’s muscular arms. From so close, she also noticed a couple more small scars dot Shampoo’s body and she resisted the temptation to run a finger over each one, trying to understand why they existed.

“Tomboy fight well,” Shampoo yawned. “Would make good Amazon. Why no fight good before?”

Shampoo talked without any sense of guilt over their fight from earlier, but Akane wasn’t angry with her. If she had really wanted to kill her, she’d have been dead from the start. Akane was beginning to blush, not only from the shock of waking up on Shampoo’s lap, but also from the compliments she was receiving.

“I… didn’t want to intimidate anyone,” Akane said shyly. She knew she should be telling Shampoo to leave, she knew she should be mad about being made to fight, but… The fight was fun. And she felt strangely comfortable telling these things to Shampoo.

“Is stupid reason,” Shampoo scoffed, moving her head in dramatic fashion away from Akane and staring at the ceiling. “Who tomboy intimidate? Tomboy very impressive, no hide your talent.”

Akane just laughed at that. She couldn’t believe Shampoo was giving her a compliment. Shampoo’s gaze turned to her with that and the heat generated from their nearness started to make Akane sweat. Her hands were getting clammy. 

“Well, you know Ranma, he can’t handle-”

“Akane not better than Ranma, even if great warrior,” Shampoo interrupted. Her eyes refused to break contact with Akane, forcing Akane to look down at the floor. She knew she wasn’t as good as Ranma, and even though he had an inferiority complex in regards to the idea of her being better, he had always shown more interest in her when she was doing martial arts.

“Girls aren’t supposed to be ‘good’ at this,” she sighed, admitting the prejudices instilled in her by her father. Finally giving voice to this feeling she’d always had, she began to understand how pathetic the life she’d been living was.

“And you think Amazon law stupid,” Shampoo commented, a smile gracing her face. Akane’s stomach was filled with butterflies at the sight. She didn’t really know what to make of that feeling. “We least recognize strong woman.”

“Yeah, well, Amazon law also wants you to fight me to the death, right?” Akane prodded, trying to fight back. She immediately regretted her decision as Shampoo’s face lost its smile and became serious again. 

“And…” She couldn’t help herself, she didn’t know why she was bringing it up, but the strange sense of camaraderie she’d felt with Shampoo since the battle was turning to anger. “And Amazon law says you must marry Ranma. Are you really saying you Amazons aren’t as bad?!”

Silence fell between them for a moment and then Shampoo gently helped Akane to stand up while getting on her own feet. Akane swallowed down a large lump in her throat as she watched. She really didn’t want Shampoo to leave at the moment, but then again she was so upset with her she couldn’t wait to get her out of her sight. 

_What was this emotion?!_ Akane screamed out in her head.

“Shampoo leave now, thanks for good fight Akane Tendo,” she said with a slight bow, then headed for the door of the dojo. Keeping her back to Akane, she cranked her head around. “Tomboy may be right, Amazon law Shampoo not always agree. But Shampoo have no choice, Shampoo have to obey elder.” 

With that, Shampoo waved a hand and walked out of the dojo.

Akane was left alone in the cold dojo. She hugged herself and shivered, then made her way back into the house. She was definitely going to yell at someone for not even checking on the dojo before going to bed. The only question that remained was who she would wake up. The only family member she could rule out was Kasumi, and she figured Nabiki’s revenge might not be worth it if she chose her either. But every step she took that night felt heavier than before, and her heart that was feeling liberated had chains enclosing all around it, arresting her pulse. She had to remind herself to breathe as various thoughts flew through her head. As she fell asleep that night, she dreamed of Shampoo and her fighting. But instead of ending in a double knockout, they both switched their positioning at the last moment, lips rather than fists headed for each other. A smile appeared on Akane’s face as she turned over in her sleep, the feeling of Shampoo’s lips on hers something she had never known she wanted before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, my ability to write martial arts or really most any action scene is wanting. I don’t know how much aura/ki techniques are canon in the way I’ve written about them, but outside of one specific instance I believe I’ve generally kept them from being extremely significant to the story. Sorry for any irritations due to their divergences from canon. :/
> 
> Also, if any character seems weaker or less significant than their canon counterparts in terms of martial arts ability, that is poor writing on my part. One of the main differences in this story, and one of the things she’s never been able to say, is that Akane is actually competent as a martial artist. I always hated that she wasn’t in canon, the story starts with her like that but seems to reduce her for virtually no reason. In terms of this story, she’s able to keep up with most of the martial artists, but is on the weaker side. For instance, she can compete with Shampoo in a fair(ish) fight (Shampoo was not holding back in this chapter), but bloodlusted Shampoo still wipes the floor with her. The only ones she’d genuinely struggle against of the main cast would be Happosai, Cologne, Ryoga, & Ranma.
> 
> In other news, this chapter barely made it out this week. I found a ton of continuity errors as I edited the story and had to change some things to be canon compliant (Akane and her mom had a small bit of story that was removed). It’s also been a terrible and hectic week, I swear some people really suck.
> 
> Next week is Ranma & Ukyo’s first date. And Ukyo reveals something that she’s been unable to say. Meanwhile, Akane abuses her battle aura to “keep up with” Shampoo.


	6. Chapter 6

Ranma carefully approached the normally bustling okonomiyaki shop, a bouquet of red roses in his hands. He’d decided to put on some of his better clothes, but he was aware that high fashion wasn’t his forte. His stomach, usually rock solid, was mildly queasy, and his mind was analyzing the approaching date like he processed another fighter’s skills.

Ukyo stood outside of the shop, the peculiar ‘closed’ sign hanging from the door. He stopped a little before reaching her, his eyes scanning the okonomiyaki chef. Compared to her normal wardrobe, she had on a mid length purple skirt and a purple and white t-shirt with the image of a spatula logo dead center. Her shoes were casual sneakers, but her hair maintained the white bow she often wore.

Ukyo’s gaze shifted towards him and he caught a hint of a smile before looking away, embarrassed to have been eyeing her like he was. But it was hard not to look, he’d never realized how pretty Ukyo was. She was always just a friend… But seeing her now - he’d rarely seen her in a skirt now that he’d thought about it - the “just a friend” image was shattering.

His nervousness worsened as he realized that this was, in many ways, his first proper date. He’d been in love with Akane all that time, but they’d never had what he’d call a proper date. There was always some scheme or force behind their time together or something that would occur during the date. But this time it’d just be Ukyo and him. He unconsciously moved his leg back and forth, trying to ease the fear of the date going wrong, before finally realizing he’d been standing in front of Ukyo for about a half a minute of awkward silence.

“U-U-Ucchan,” he stuttered, moving his arms from behind his back. “These are for you.” 

He presented the bouquet of roses to her, which she graciously accepted. Ukyo was beaming and almost seemed ready to squeal. He’d really never seen her be so girly.

“Thanks, Ranchan!” Ukyo leaped forward and threw her arms around his shoulders. A shiver went down Ranma’s spine as he felt her body heat against him, smelled the strawberry perfume Ukyo had put on for the date, and embraced her back. The hug was a quick one, nearly leaving him dead inside as they parted. He’d never wanted to embrace someone so badly.

“So where are we headed?” Ukyo asked. Before he could answer, she jumped towards the shop. His heartbeat sped up and his head started bobbing around, trying to find where the threat was coming from. 

“Sorry to spook you, Ranma.” Ukyo laughed. “I just realized that these flowers needed some water and, well, anyways let me go put them inside and we’ll get going okay?”

Ranma waited for a couple minutes before Ukyo came out and stood beside him. 

“Where to?”

“I wasn’t sure where the best place would be,” Ranma answered, rubbing the back of his head. Ukyo being so close was intoxicating and his mind felt like it was shutting down. “I-I- I was thinkin’ a walk in the park, and then there’s a place we could go to to eat.”

Ukyo’s hand gripped his as his whole body threatened to collapse from the shock. 

“Sounds nice, Ranchan.”

And with that they walked holding hands towards the park, both a little awkward and both a little stiff. Ranma wasn’t sure if what he had planned was a good idea, but the Tendo sisters had insisted that he needed to do more than take her to a nice restaurant.

As they arrived at the park, he led Ukyo over towards an empty patch of grass, save for a forgotten blanket left on the ground. He let go of her hand and motioned to Ukyo to sit on the blanket.

“Ranma, that’s not our blanket. It’d probably be better if we just found a bench,” Ukyo said, voice slightly strained.

“Heh, I’m sorry, Ucchan. That’s, uh, actually my blanket.” He whispered, afraid she’d get mad at what was to come.

“Oh,” was all she said, before cautiously taking a seat. He quickly sat next to her, gulped nervously, then jolted his arm towards her and wrapped it around her shoulder. He pulled her closer so that she was leaning into him.

“I thought that I’d surprise you,” he began, Ukyo’s reaction nearly impossible to read. Her mouth was quivering as if she had something to say, but her rapidly blushing face combined with an apparent dread of a possibly used blanket obfuscated her real emotions. “I sort of bought a date package.”

Silence sat between them for a few moments before Ukyo moved away from him, breaking their embrace and sitting up on her own.

“What do you mean you bought a date?” Her face had returned to her normal expression. Ranma kicked himself for having already ruined the mood.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he began nervously, “so I paid Nabiki to set up a picnic for us at the park. Someone should be along with our food in a few minutes. But if you don’t want to do this, we can still-”

Ranma’s voice stopped in its tracks as he saw a couple tears well up in Ukyo’s eyes. What had he done wrong? Was this that bad of an idea? But as his worst fears for the date came crashing down on him, Ukyo’s lips tilted upwards.

“You’re… you’re actually serious about this date?” she asked. He felt like an arrow had missed a major artery by a centimeter right before the bullet flew into his heart. What did she mean by that? _Why would she…_

“I thought that was obvious.” He didn’t know what to say. His entire demeanor drooped and the fun he’d be having felt distant. Ukyo wasn’t upset, or at least so he thought. But… Why would she think that? It didn’t take long for her to answer, as she seemed to respond to his condition and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.

Ukyo inched towards him on her knees and hugged him awkwardly from the front. She whispered into his ear, her voice trembling. 

“I never thought this day would come. I… You never… Well I’d wanted this from you for so long, but… It doesn’t seem real, that we could actually be here because we like each other.”

As Ukyo tried to peel herself away from Ranma, he gently pulled her back into his embrace. He moved his face closer to Ukyo’s and when she reciprocated, he kissed her. It was purely instinctual, a survival instinct which ordered him to do something, anything, to prevent her from leaving at that very moment. Their lips moved against each other, at first gently, then more roughly. His thoughts were fading as he lost himself in kissing her, before sanity came screeching back a few seconds later as they parted.

“I-I-I’m sorry,” he said, face looking down at the ground. He couldn’t understand the urge himself. But even now, he was having a hard time suppressing his urge to kiss her again.

“W-why?” came Ukyo’s reply. “That was amazing.”

“So that was o-o-okay?” he stuttered. Ranma was cursing himself for not being able to talk straight at the moment, but his nerves had never been so frayed. He was afraid that maybe he’d done something she didn’t want him to do.

“You are my fiancé, you realize that?” Ukyo commented sarcastically.

He looked up at her and gave her a small smile. For a minute, they stared into each other’s eyes, tuned out from the world.

“Delivery for one Ranma Saotome,” a familiar voice bellowed, bursting their bubble and filling both with dread.

They watched nervously as Kuno brought a picnic basket and placed it between them on the blanket.

“Nabiki’s Nerima Experiences thanks you for your business,” Kuno said mechanically, before turning to leave. Ranma’s aura flared to life, an anger like he’d never known directed only at Kuno. He was quite literally the second to last person he’d ever want to see while he was on a date.

“Since when do you work for Nabiki?” he said snidely, unable to resist the urge to goad the annoying kendo captain.

“If I work for Nabiki for a week, she will give me a date with the pig-tailed girl, you fool!” Kuno exclaimed, then began laughing manically. “An oaf such as yourself would never understand the lengths a man would go to for his pig-tailed girl.”

Ranma’s body was at war with his mind. He was prepared to kick Kuno into the horizon, but an urge to remain with Ukyo, to have an uninterrupted date with her, held him back. Kuno almost seemed disappointed when Ranma had no come back, then quickly sauntered off as his pager beeped. The only thing left were the impressions of the frightening mumbling Kuno had blabbered on his way about his work conditions and needing to put the company before the personal.

“These are sandwiches,” Ukyo said perplexedly. Perhaps she’d been expecting something more Japanese in origin. “They look really good!”

For a few minutes, Ranma and Ukyo ate their meal and made small talk. All of his earlier nervousness had disappeared. Eating and talking with Ukyo was natural after all, they’d been friends since they were kids. The wind gently rustled the leaves and Ranma leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky. He was incredibly happy at the moment.

“Ranchan?” Ukyo spoke up. It seemed she had to say his name a couple times before she caught his attention. He’d been that lost in his bliss he’d accidentally ignored the main cause of it.

“Sorry,” Ranma said bashfully. “I was just thinkin’ is all.”

“It’s okay, Ranma honey,” Ukyo replied. “I want you to know that you should be comfortable with me. I mean it. You’ve seemed so stressed for most of this date, just be yourself. You’re a lot better at all of this than I suspect you’re giving yourself credit for.”

“Yeah, well I did get some advice.”

“Oh, and they told you to kiss me before the meal, did they?” she teased.

“Well no, that was my fault.” Ranma grinned. Ukyo’s face furled.

“Ranma that wasn’t your ‘fault’. That’s what couples do on a date.”

They had finished eating during the conversation and were now sitting around without much to do.

“So it’s fine if I kiss you again,” he teased. But all he got was a blush and a slight nod of her head. His heart skipped a beat at the sight. He didn’t waste anytime. He crawled over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. His nervousness was completely gone. For a good minute they stared into each other’s eyes, their breathing becoming increasingly erratic.

“Ranchan,” she uttered, almost inaudibly. She seemed to be confused as to what he was doing. He didn’t really know himself, he was running off of his instincts at that point. Her voice prodded him on as he gently pushed on her shoulders. She didn’t resist as he slid her onto her back so that she was lying on the blanket. He moved his body over hers and his face came down to meet her. Their lips intertwined again as he tasted her even more ferociously. He could feel Ukyo shake slightly as his tongue slipped into her mouth, clearly not expecting him to be the first to do that.

They continued to kiss, only breaking apart when it became impossible to go without air. Ranma was still holding himself above Ukyo and staring into her eyes. He watched as strands of her hair fluttered about in the breeze, then kissed her again, this time only a quick peck.

Ranma flopped on his back next to Ukyo, their hands fumbling for a moment before finding each other and staring up at the sky. They didn’t say anything for awhile and merely watched the clouds fly by, occasionally pointing up at one they found interesting.

“Ranchan?” He turned his head to face her. “I’m really happy right now, Ranchan.” 

Ranma smiled and gripped her hand more firmly to let her know he felt the same. They watched the clouds for another minute and tried to discuss what each cloud looked like to them. But they were interrupted as they heard shouting and watched a pair of bike tires fly over their faces. The backend of the bike missed Ranma’s face by an inch.

“Tomboy no escape!” Shampoo yelled. “Amazon punishment must deliver!”

Ranma leaped to his feet, Ukyo soon following. His battle aura flared to life as his anger towards being interrupted boiled to the top. Sure enough, as he examined the scene he could see Akane desperately running away from a crazed Shampoo. Akane quickly ducked into one of the hedges in the park, but Shampoo seemed to spot her from the corner of her eye and gave pursuit.

Shampoo never did make it to the hedge as Ranma jumped in front of her bike and held out a hand. She skid to a stop seconds before ramming him. He could see in his peripheral vision an incensed Ukyo. He wanted to communicate to her he felt the same way, but he had to make sure Shampoo wouldn’t hurt Akane.

“What’s it this time, Shampoo?” he demanded. He wasn’t in the mood for any of these crazy girls’ games. At least Shampoo was easier to deal with than Kodachi.

“Tomboy run from Shampoo. Shampoo must deliver Amazon justice.”

“Yeah, well pick on someone your own size. You know Akane isn’t in your lea-”

Ranma went flying through the air as Akane emerged from the hedge and kicked him. Ranma closed his eyes in preparation for his travels. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t like this though, flying through the air was quite exhilarating and Akane did have a strong kick. But instead of the usual momentum, he felt arms wrap around him. Opening his eyes, he could see Ukyo dragging him back towards the ground, safely putting him back on his own two feet as they landed. He’d never seen Ukyo this angry before and for a moment he got flashbacks of his time with Akane before he realized the anger wasn’t directed at him.

“Ranchan’s my fiancé!” Ukyo yelled at Shampoo and Akane who looked at her stunned. “You kick my fiancé into the air again and there will be consequences. No okonomiyaki for either of you.”

The words were far more effective than he imagined they’d be. Ukyo was, as she aspired to be, a great okonomiyaki chef. In fact she might just have been the best.

“Shampoo sorry, but was Tomboy’s fault.” Shampoo pointed to Akane with a blank expression on her face. Akane’s face in the meantime scrunched up and reddened. He swore he could see steam coming out of her ears.

“That’s not true, it was your fault, you were the one chasing me!” Akane yelled.

“You kick Ranma,” Shampoo argued back.

Ranma never heard the rest of their argument as Ukyo had grabbed his hand and led him away from the park. As they walked, to where he wasn’t sure, the sun began to set. And he realized that in the whole ordeal at the park, Shampoo nor Akane tried to debate Ukyo on who was actually engaged to him. It was hard for him to parse such an emotion; he wasn’t sure whether to be thrilled by the lack of affection or sad that the circus had calmed down.

“That Akane,” Ukyo growled. Ranma looked over at her and tried to read her face, but couldn’t really get much.

“Ucchan?” he prodded, trying to talk to her. She was clearly upset over having to deal with the circus again.

They stopped in front of some buildings and Ukyo let go of his hand. As she started to cry, he tried to lean in a hand to wipe away her tears, but she swatted it away.

“Why Ranma, why?” she cried. He waited for her to continue, not sure what she was going on about. 

“Why’d you choose Akane!” Ukyo was shouting now and he didn’t know what to say back, so he only stared at her. He hadn’t even thought about it, but when she had made him choose, he had chosen Akane. How could he… But… His excuses all died on his tongue, unable to utter any lies to her.

“You-you saw how great it was, just the two of us today, but you still chose her,” she wailed. He’d never seen her this emotional. Ranma’s heart was breaking as he still couldn’t find the right words to say. But he knew he had to say something.

“I only thought of you as a friend then, Ukyo,” he said somberly. His heart hung on her reply. This was one attack he should have seen coming but never considered a threat. The sucker punch was destroying everything inside of him, crushing his very being. Since when did he feel so strongly for Ukyo that seeing her like this distressed him so?

“I’m painfully aware of that, Ranma,” she said, tears beginning to dry up and anger welling to the surface. He couldn’t really blame her for it, he knew he deserved some of this. “So you’re saying that you led me on all that time, then dumped me when you wanted Akane? And what, did she reject you? Is that why you came back to me? To toy with me?”

Ranma stood and listened as every insecurity Ukyo had about their relationship came to the surface. All he could do was tell her the truth and hope she’d accept it. But he could feel the conversation taking a bad turn. If this didn’t work, he didn’t know what was going to happen with them.

“Ucchan,” he whispered, desperate for his words to reach her, yet afraid to speak too loud lest he sound like he was shouting. “Ucchan, I didn’t mean to lead you on. I really didn’t. But how was I supposed to reject my best friend, the one I’d known since childhood. I- I couldn’t bare to see you like you are right now. And I didn’t want to choose, you made-”

Ranma’s words caught in his throat. He wasn’t the smartest when it came to politeness or social graces, but even he knew he had made a terrible mistake. But it brought up feelings he hadn’t realized he’d had.

“So it’s my fault?” Ukyo asked in disbelief.

“That’s not it!” He shouted. “That’s… Look, I didn’t want to choose, I…”

Ukyo snorted at his pause, obviously disgusted at him. Ranma rubbed his hand through his hair hoping that the right words would come. They didn’t. He was angry at her for making him choose, but why was that? Why would that have mattered when he loved Akane back then? He obviously didn’t want to break her heart, but it’s not a hard decision when you’re in love with someone.

“Akane didn’t dump me, I dumped her,” he retorted proudly. 

“Well it was more mutual.” He corrected himself, not wanting to lie to Ukyo to save his pride.

“And why was that, because you also wanted Shampoo?”

“No, it was because of-”

Water splashed Ranma out of nowhere, his once tight fitting clothes now sagging. He yelled at the person who tossed the water on him to look where they’re doing so from now on, then bit his lip and kicked at the ground. It was just his luck that his first date with Ukyo would have gone this badly.

“We weren’t compatible with each other,” he finished after a few seconds of brooding over his transformation. He’d promised Akane he wouldn’t say anything, so he made sure to keep the reason vague. But as he looked up at Ukyo, her face was contorted in laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Ranma demanded, walking towards her. The tension of the earlier argument seemed almost entirely gone. The only lingering traces were Ranma’s irritation over how he felt when he was forced to choose between Ukyo and Akane. It still didn’t make sense to him why he was so enraged by it.

“It-it,” Ukyo giggled, trying to form a coherent sentence. “It wouldn’t be a date with you Ranma unless something crazy like this happened.”

“Yeah, well it’s par for the course, I guess. But I’m sorry that I ruined our date.”

“How?” Ukyo asked. “It was me, getting angry about the past that was ruining things.”

“Ucchan, ya had every right to get angry.” He was doing his best to sound sympathetic, something fairly unnatural to a Saotome. “And I mean me being a girl, it’s not-”

“You’re Ranma, right?”

“What?” he asked perplexed.

“You’re Ranma, right?” Ukyo moved towards him and put her hand over his heart. He didn’t like the feelings that sent through his currently female body. He wondered how he could even call himself a man every time he had feelings like that in his female form.

Ranma nodded. The sun was nearing the horizon as he continued to savor the touch of his fiancée. As unrealistic as it was, he hoped they never fought again; it was far too much to not be able to touch her at all.

“See, you’re Ranma,” she smiled. “It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got this body or your other one, you’re still Ranma. I don’t care whichever body it is.”

Ukyo’s words were filled with kindness and something he’d never heard before. She wasn’t trying to scold him because of his curse nor was she trying to make him be someone he wasn’t. She simply accepted him.

Ranma pulled Ukyo into himself for a hug, noticing the differences between doing so in his female and male forms. As he pulled away, he wanted desperately to kiss her, but resisted the urge as they were both girls at the moment. Ukyo’s face was wrought with disappointment when their lips nearly met before he pulled away.

“About choosing Akane, I’m sorry Ukyo, I-”

“Hey, why are you bringing that up again when we’re having such a good time,” she made a fake smile and reached for his hand. They began walking down the street together again, Ukyo guiding him to whatever she had planned. “It does seem like you were angry for me making you choose.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know Ucchan, but I didn’t like being put on the spot like that. I know that might be a horrible-”

“That’s fine, then,” Ukyo smiled, this time genuinely. Knowing he’d been upset at making a choice seemed to have cheered her up. He wondered if it was because she felt like that was some sort of revenge on him, but he knew she wasn’t that kind of person. As long as they could still be on good terms, he decided that was good enough for him.

They walked for a little while longer before entering a small restaurant and taking a seat.

“You got the main meal, I’ll get desert!” Ukyo exclaimed cheerfully. When the waitress came by, Ranma was shocked that Ukyo ordered the exact float that he liked. “I know you get embarrassed to eat that stuff as a guy, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to come here on our date.”

They ate their deserts, this time talking about various martial arts techniques, before they headed back to Ukyo’s shop.

“I had a good time tonight,” Ukyo said shyly. She was standing with her back to the door. After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke up again. “Ranchan, if I asked you to choose me now over the others, would you?”

For once Ranma wasn’t at a loss for words and he answered immediately.

“I already chose you, Ucchan, if you’ll have me,” he said with a small smile. He could feel his cheeks blush in tandem with hers, a burning scarlet crimson.

Ukyo moved towards him, slightly taller than him now that he was in his female form, and looked down. Their faces grew closer and he swallowed a large lump in his throat. He wanted to kiss her goodnight, but…

“We’re both girls right now,” he whispered. Ukyo didn’t seem to want to stop, but didn’t move any further.

“No, we’re Ranma and Ukyo right now,” she replied teasingly. “But even if we are both girls right now, so what? Why can’t we?”

“Well, umm, because…” he stumbled for words. People had always told him it was wrong but he didn’t really know why. Well he did in his case, it wasn’t the manly thing. How could a man kiss someone as a woman?

“Oh, so you don’t want to kiss me,” Ukyo breathed seductively into his ear before placing herself right in front of him again. He shook his head, unable to resist her intoxicating aroma. He knew he shouldn’t but he didn’t have the willpower to say no anymore.

Ukyo’s lips met with his ever so gently, barely brushing against each other, before she pulled back and waved at him. The feelings running through Ranma’s body were the same as when he kissed her before but also so much more different.

“I should probably go inside now,” she said, blushing. “But I hope we can do this again sometime.”

“Of-of course,” he replied. He was glued to the spot watching her leave. This certainly hadn’t been the typical kind of first date, but he was thankful for that. Though the feelings of euphoria were rapidly fading. Guilt began to flood his mind over not only the things he’d done to Ukyo, but also kissing her while in his female form.

“Ranma?”

Ukyo bit her lip for a moment, apparently anxious about whether she should say what was on her mind. “Do you want to go out on the weekend?”

“Sure, sounds like a great idea.”

“Alright!” she shouted. He looked up to see her gentle smile and wished they didn’t have to part at the moment. Making her that happy was perhaps a greater high than mastering martial arts had ever given him.

And with that she closed the door, leaving Ranma lonelier than he imagined he could be. Before he knew it the feelings of loneliness had been replaced with anticipation and he was excited to go on a date with her again. He pondered on his way home whether he should trust his sense of fashion to pick out an outfit or if he should ask Kasumi for help. 

His last thoughts for the day as he fell asleep were a mix of Mr. Tendo or pops finding out about the date and forcing him to listen to a lecture about why he needed to marry Akane and Ukyo cuddling up next to him in his male form to keep him warm for the night. He preferred the imaginary Ukyo.

* * *

Akane was sitting in Dr. Tofu’s clinic, pondering her life. There wasn’t much to think about if she were honest, mostly she’d been focused on Shampoo as of late. The Amazon warrior had said she was supposed to kill her, but why? It had never been the Amazon law to kill her before, had it?

“Nihao! Cat Cafe delivery for Dr. Tofu and Mr. Panda-in-law!” Shampoo said, carrying a delivery crate filled to the brim with food. Akane looked at her nervously, but Shampoo didn’t seem to take notice, simply going into the back to deliver the food. As Shampoo walked out of the clinic, her head turned over her shoulder and she looked right at Akane for a brief moment before hopping back onto her bike.

Akane had been left confused by the moment in the dojo when Shampoo had attacked her. Without thinking her body ran out to catch Shampoo before she left, hoping to find some sort of answer to her confusion. When she hurriedly dashed outside, Shampoo who had been just about to begin pedaling, leaned over on her bike and stayed in place.

“Tomboy have business with Shampoo?” Akane could tell she was confused, hell even Akane herself was concerned with why she ran after her. But she really wanted to ask Shampoo something, despite awkwardly realizing that she couldn’t form a question for a problem she couldn’t understand.

“You call me a Tomboy all the time, maybe I’ll call you Stupid Cat!,” Akane yelled, pulling her eyelid down and sticking out her tongue. This wasn’t why she’d come out here, but her default setting for uncomfortable situations was to attack the person with an insult.

“Shampoo no care what Tomboy call Shampoo,” the purple haired Amazon said cheerily. “Only matter what Airen call Shampoo.”

Shampoo’s voice sounded cheery, but something felt off. The words felt empty.

“Where are you going next?” Akane asked out of curiosity. She was stalling to try to remember the question on the tip of her tongue. She had no interest in what Shampoo was doing, she reminded herself.

“Park lovely this time year.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Akane shouted. She knew what that meant. Ranma and Ukyo had gone on a date to the park and she wasn’t going to let Shampoo ruin Ranma’s time again. Why did Shampoo always have to cling to Ranma? The very thought infuriated Akane.

“What Tomboy do?” This time it was Shampoo sticking out her tongue before pedaling at lightning speed towards her destination. Akane tensed her legs, wanting to run after Shampoo but knowing she’d never be able to stop her. Instead she ran into Dr. Tofu’s, found a bottle of water, and jolted back outside.

Akane breathed heavily for a few seconds before her battle aura flared to life. She had already done a quick search to ensure no one was around, but she knew there was a chance she’d be caught. Her own aura glowed a blue-green hue with spikes around its edges. She bent into a runner’s starting position, then put all of her power into her legs. As she released her aura her legs pushed back against the ground and she was leaping in the air, quickly catching up to an unaware Shampoo.

Akane couldn’t control her trajectory, but she lucked out by flying right over Shampoo’s head. She opened the water bottle and let it rain, missing the moment at which the Amazon suddenly became a cat. Shampoo’s bike fell to the side as she was forced to jump off of it on account of her transformation. Shampoo looked up and right at Akane before they lost eye contact. 

Akane focused on her landing, stumbling and rolling a bit on impact. Her arms were slightly scuffed but she had managed to use her aura to protect herself rather well. This had been the first time she’d ever tried something like this and another step closer to entering the ring of powerful martial artists like Ranma.

As Akane turned around, she saw the cat digging through the remaining deliveries before a loud bang caused her to blink for a millisecond. By the time she could see again the human Shampoo was standing before her.

“Tomboy pay for ruin delivery!” Shampoo shouted, lifting her bike up and pedaling towards Akane at a strikingly fast pace. Akane used what little energy she had left to run, trying to detour Shampoo away from the park.

Her plan was short lived as Shampoo caught up, then leaped off her bike and tackled Akane to the ground. Thighs gripping Akane’s waist, Shampoo sat on top of her and looked down. But the malice she’d expected wasn’t there; Shampoo seemed amused.

“Now Tomboy pay-”

Shampoo never got the chance to finish as Akane used a sudden burst of battle aura to propel her movement, giving her the strength against a surprised Shampoo to break the hold and run away again. Shampoo was quick on her tail.

Akane ran, not concentrating on much of anything other than avoiding being caught by Shampoo. Her mouth broke into a grin before she found herself laughing, taking a sharp corner as she gained some distance from the Amazon warrior. Every time she looked back it seemed like Shampoo was as giddy as her.

A few minutes of the cat and mouse game found Shampoo catching up to Akane, so she realized her only option was to hide. If Shampoo had been serious like that time at the dojo, there was no way she could outrun Shampoo on a bike. Akane scoured the park quickly and found familiar hedges to dive into. She ran straight towards them, not realizing the full impact of what she’d done until she ran right past a couple staring up at the sky.

The fun she’d been having disappeared instantly, her stomach dropping out from under her. Ranma was on his date with Ukyo here at this very park. And she’d brought Shampoo right to the location she had sworn to keep her from. And even worse, she could see Ranma was having a good time with Ukyo. Jealously flared inside her and she let out an indecent guffaw as Shampoo’s bike appeared to ride across Ranma’s face, though without him shouting she wasn’t sure if it’d actually connected from this distance. Served him right if it did, she figured, feeling guilty over such thoughts a moment later.

“Tomboy no escape!” Shampoo yelled. “Amazon punishment must deliver!”

Akane leaped in the bush and stayed still, trying not to make a noise. But she could sense the approach of multiple people. The sound of chaos, surprisingly comforting to Akane as that was the normal in her life, sounded from outside the bushes.

“What is it this time, Shampoo?” Ranma’s voice sounded. He’d come to protect her. That made Akane’s heart skip a beat. But she also felt guilty for still wanting Ranma. She knew it was wrong, but the reason why that was once so clear was now murky. It felt as if it were wrong for a different reason.

“Tomboy run from Shampoo. Shampoo must deliver Amazon justice.” 

“Yeah, well pick on someone your own size, ya know Akane isn’t in your lea-”

Akane’s blood boiled. Any feelings of affection she’d felt towards Ranma left her as quickly as they came. She leaped out of the bush in a heated rage and kicked Ranma into the horizon. Ranma talked a big game, but he couldn’t handle the times she’d been better than him. And she was tired of him always saying how inferior she was in martial arts, even if it were true. At the very least though she had held her own against Shampoo in the dojo, so she could defend to herself that she wasn’t a terrible fighter. 

She calmed down a second later as Shampoo and her stared at Ranma flying gracefully through the air before Ukyo leaped up and caught him, bringing him back to the ground. Since when could Ukyo do that? Reason kicked in and she realized she shouldn’t blame Ranma for what he was saying; if she didn’t want to show off her martial prowess, how could she not expect people to think less of her martial arts abilities. That was the whole point of keeping it a secret.

“Ranchan’s my fiancé!” Ukyo yelled at Shampoo and Akane. They both looked at her, stunned. Akane had never seen Ukyo this angry before. “You kick my fiancé into the air again and there will be consequences. No okonomiyaki for either of you.”

Regret was already filling Akane. She’d failed to keep Shampoo from ruining Ranma’s date. She could admit that she may have had a small part in that too, but surely it was mostly Shampoo’s fault. And then she had kicked Ranma for little reason. The last thing she wanted to do was be banned from Ukyo’s, especially as so many of her friends went there. She’d be excluded from many of the meals they so frequently had.

“Shampoo sorry, but was Tomboy’s fault,” Shampoo said as she pointed to Akane with a blank expression on her face. Akane’s face in the meantime scrunched up and reddened. Of course she’d blame her. 

“That’s not true, it was your fault, you were the one chasing me!” Akane yelled.

“You kick Ranma,” Shampoo argued back.

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t planned to meddle in their date!” Akane rebuffed her. Unlike Akane, whose emotions were being worn on her sleeve, Shampoo was as calm as ever as they argued. It would be a good few minutes before either of them realized Ranma and Ukyo had already left.

“Shampoo no clue Ranma date Ukyo,” the confused Amazon said. She didn’t appear to be lying. “Shampoo had delivery at park. Then Tomboy attack!”

Akane’s face reddened tremendously at that as she nervously avoided Shampoo’s glare. She wondered why she had lead Shampoo towards the park. Had she tried to ruin Ranma’s date?

“I’m sorry,” Akane said, hanging her head down and bowing slightly. She hated apologizing, but she was doing it anyways. Lately when she’d been around Shampoo, she was finding it hard to hide underneath her typical stubborn exterior.

Shampoo considered her for a moment, likely stunned she’d actually received an apology from Akane.

“Was fun to chase Tomboy,” Shampoo said, getting back on her bike. “Good exercise. But Shampoo need finish deliveries.”

And with that Akane’s mood downed a little more as Shampoo rode off towards the Cat Cafe. She’d had fun too. As she walked home, she considered whether she should still be hiding her martial arts capabilities. It was a huge boon if she needed to defend herself from one of the myriad of her attackers and take them by surprise, but every time she’d unleashed it with Shampoo she had been having more fun than she’d ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Ranma does not enjoy being kicked; he’s practicing optimism and/or suppression of his ire by at least enjoying his flight through the air.
> 
> I’m not sure if I made it clear enough, but there are reasons for awkward parts of the date. Ranma is scared about doing almost anything romantic due to his primary experience with romance being Akane and her temper tantrums, Meanwhile, Ukyo is frustrated; while Ranma has liked her for awhile (even though he couldn’t understand it because it was muddled up with his feelings for Akane), Ukyo is still “further ahead” in terms of what she expects from their relationship. She’s also wanting Ranma to understand that he doesn’t need to be afraid to be himself around her like he was with Akane.
> 
> You may wonder why Ukyo is actually fine with Ranma being miffed about having to choose between her and Akane in the past. This is because she realizes, though Ranma has yet to understand, that he liked her so much that he didn’t want to choose. Most people in this story with any sort of emotional intelligence (not Genma for instance) understand that Ranma leaned towards Akane because of duty (though he did genuinely like her).
> 
> And if you’re wondering, yes the Tendo sisters know that Ranma and Akane broke up. However they don’t know why. They’re also aware of Ranma and Ukyo now becoming an item.
> 
> Akane's insult towards Shampoo isn't the greatest, but the only alternatives I could come up with were too aggressive.
> 
> This chapter also relied too much on aura and the wording was at times very awkward. Took me a lot longer to edit this chapter than most and not just because of the length. Hopefully it's okay for the first date of the fic.
> 
> Next chapter, Kasumi enters the story and Akane finds herself in a perplexing pickle.


	7. Chapter 7

Ranma woke up after an especially loud snore sounded from his father who was sleeping near him. The peace he’d felt while sleeping was already displaced with nervous anticipation. His second date with Ukyo was coming up.

Ranma made his way to the dojo for his daily routine. Going through the motions helped to calm him, but even so he was finding himself rather anxious. And irate. He couldn’t seem to control his emotions anymore. Even though he appreciated that his lack of restraint had brought him closer to Ukyo, he felt less like a man each day. How could the manliest of men have this many emotions? And how could he be considered manly when he cried while watching…

Ranma’s thoughts trailed off, not wanting to remember the shame of what he’d done last night. Crying was bad enough. Crying to some sappy TV movie was worse, making him feel like his mom wouldn’t be crazy to force him to commit seppuku at any moment.

The rest of the morning went by inconspicuously, the only note of difference was Akane’s indifferent mood at breakfast. He tried to goad her on a couple times, but this morning she didn’t take the bait. They had stopped arguing as much since they broke off their engagement, but it had still been a relatively frequent occurrence before he started dating Ukyo. This morning the trend continued as she was virtually silent through their entire meal.

After breakfast, Ranma went to stroll around in the backyard, pondering on what would be best to wear on his date. Picking out clothes wasn’t his forte.

“Ranma,” a gentle voice sounded from behind him. He felt a petite hand on his shoulder, a comforting warmness that washed away all of his worries in an instant. Turning around, he found himself looking directly into a concerned Kasumi’s eyes. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“Sure,” he replied.

“In private?”

“Okay.” 

Why would she need to speak to him in private? Kasumi had rarely tried to talk to Ranma one on one without others around. 

“We could go to the dojo. Pops and the rest should be busy.”

“You’ll be able to detect them if they come within listening distance though?”

Ranma stared at the expressionless Kasumi. He’d never seen her face so troubled before. And if she was that concerned about the privacy of their conversation, just what was weighing on the eldest Tendo daughter’s mind?

Ranma nodded his head and walked with Kasumi to the empty dojo, which felt colder and more stagnant than normal. They stood around for a few seconds before Kasumi’s face became serious, her eyes burning a hole in his skull.

“You’re going on a date with Ukyo tomorrow, I presume?” Kasumi asked. 

Ranma gulped, then nodded. He wasn’t surprised she figured out that much already, but what about it was so important that it required absolute secrecy?

“Ah, so that explains Akane’s indifference at breakfast,” she mused. For a moment she smiled her Kasumi brand smile, one that could put people at ease and make you wish you could live as enlightened a life as she did. The smile soon disappeared and the mature looking Kasumi came back.

“Why did you two call off the engagement?”

“Well, um, I, but, yeah, uh,” Ranma desperately searched for words but found none satisfactory. He couldn’t reveal Akane’s secret, he couldn’t break that promise. But how could he get out of this situation?

“I’m sorry, Ranma,” she whispered. It was as if Kasumi’s personality kept switching between her usual self and a protective older sister. “I’ve sensed so much unease from the both of you since then. And I just want to be there for you two. I think you’re both struggling with something. Just know you can talk to me about it, or about other things. I understand our families aren’t the best communicators.”

It was as if the world was falling away for Ranma. Kasumi smiled again, then turned to leave the dojo. His heart beat faster. Time seemed to slow as her words weighed on his mind. He’d always known Kasumi was nice, but it was more than that. He felt at ease around her, as if she were the eye of a hurricane; as long as he was connected to her, the chaos around them wasn’t so bad. More than anything, he realized he could trust Kasumi.

“Wait,” he quivered. His voice was barely audible. His palms began to sweat and the chaotic sense of being that was foreign to a martial artist such as himself began to seethe within him. “Ka-Kasumi, I, well, I actually…”

Kasumi had already turned around and smiled, placing her hands in front of her and waiting for him to continue.

“What should I wear on my date with Ukyo?”

Kasumi stared at him for a moment, perplexed and clearly expecting something else. Ranma had wanted to ask about the other thing, the thing that had been bothering him, but he found himself too cowardly in the end. However, could it be called cowardice? Wasn’t it more manly to ignore his emotions than talk about them?

“If you need help picking something out, I’d be glad to assist. What kind of date is it?”

“Kind of date?” Ranma hadn’t stopped to consider there could be more than one type.

“Do you need to wear something formal or casual? That kind of thing.”

“Oh, that kind of thing.” Ranma said, not entirely sure if the formal/casual distinction was the only one or part of a larger subset of date types. “Uh, probably not real formal, but not too casual?”

“Hmm… I’ve got free time after dinner, why don’t I help you go through your clothes and find something suitable?”

“Thanks, Kaschan. I think I’ll take ya up on that offer.” Ranma smiled back at her nervously. He kept trying to shove it back down, but in this particular moment, he didn’t feel like he could hold it in any longer. He just needed a little more time, he’d regain control of his emotions, he’d-

“It’s okay, Ranma, you can tell me.” Kasumi said after a long, awkward pause in their conversation. The eldest Tendo sister could clearly sense there was something he needed to get off his chest. To Ranma, her words were like an angel’s, full of grace and salvation.

“Ifellasleepinmyfemaleformtheothernight,” he quickly whispered, his face flushing and his body feeling like it might give out at any moment.

“Go on.” Such simple words, but they were strangely comforting to Ranma. He took a deep breath, then continued.

“You don’t see how that’s wrong? I didn’t change back. I could have, I should have, but I didn’t feel like it. There was plenty of hot water, so why didn’t I-”

“Why is any of that wrong?”

“Well, I mean, ya know, isn’t it obvious?”

“Not really.” Kasumi stood there frowning at the martial artist. He had thought it would be a bad idea to talk about this and based off of her expression, he was right. He was obviously just a freak. 

“I fall asleep in my female form every night.” Kasumi chuckled. Ranma’s brain exploded, now completely unable to parse even the tiniest bit of what was happening.

“Yeah, but you’re not a guy.”

“Ranma, even if you are a guy, what’s so wrong about your female form that you feel this bad for just sleeping in it? It’s part of who you are. Why feel so ashamed?”

“Ya know what everyone says an’ stuff. And it’s not really part of me, it’s a curse.” Ranma nervously rubbed the back of his head. His body had calmed down and his normal sense of balance was returning.

“No, that’s what some people say,” Kasumi corrected him, holding up her finger to admonish him. “And is it really a curse?”

It was like a lightbulb went off over Ranma’s head. He felt like he was beginning to follow what she was getting at. But he still couldn’t accept it.

“It has to be a curse. I’ve got to be the manliest of men, ya know that Kaschan. It’s my duty to-”

“No, no!” Kasumi shouted. Tears were welling up in her eyes. They were, in some ways, his tears as well, as if she would cry for the both of them. “You’ve got to be the best at martial arts. Because that’s what you want to do. It doesn’t matter if you do that with a male or a female body.”

“But I’m a man, Kasumi, it’s not right-”

“It’s fine, Ranma, it’s fine,” an exasperated Kasumi said, letting out a big breath in the process. He was beginning to fear where the conversation was going; he’d never seen her this emotional before. “Fuck what they filled your head with Ranma. Fuck it all. You’re no less of a martial artist or a dutiful child if you don’t force yourself to always be hyper masculine. And why is it wrong to embrace who you are? The curse is a part of you, at least for now. Why can’t you be comfortable being yourself, regardless of which form you’re in? Hell, if you told me you wanted to stay in your female form, even that’d be fine. You’re like a little brother to me, Ranma. I… I can’t… I…”

The lightbulb that had appeared over Ranma’s head shattered. Kasumi’s words had cut deep. And did he just hear her cuss, multiple times?

Kasumi collapsed to the floor, her knees splayed underneath her as she buried her face in her arm. Ranma quickly ran over and considered poking at her, like poking something with a stick to see if it was alive. But common sense kicked in and instead he sat down next to her and bumped her with his shoulder. She swayed a bit with the hit, but kept sobbing.

“Kaschan, I don’t know what to say. What’s happening? What did I do?”

“Nothing,” she whimpered.

He bumped her again with his shoulder. Her crying stopped soon after and eventually she came up for air. Her red, swollen face looked at him as she hiccuped.

“Kasumi?” he asked concernedly. If there was something he was weak to, besides cats, it would probably be a crying woman. He had no way to deal with it and it made him incredibly uncomfortable. Even so there was no way he’d abandon Kasumi to escape from his discomfort.

“I’m sorry, Ranma,” she hiccuped. She sniffled then wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that, I-”

“Thank you for listening,” he interrupted. He didn’t know how she could even begin to think she needed to apologize.

“Do you still want help getting ready for the date?” Kasumi sniffled, wiping away a stray tear. He found that his affection for her had grown quite a bit and the realization that she’d no longer be his sister-in-law brought a pang of sadness.

“If ya don’t mind, I could probably use it,” he shrugged.

“I’d be happy to help,” Kasumi smiled. That sight alone parted the gloomy clouds hovering over their conversation.

“Kasumi?” he whispered as they stood up. She nodded. “I’m not good at listening, but ya know, if you want to talk or somethin’”

“Thanks Ranma. But let’s go help you get ready for that date. I think once we’re done, Ukyo will be very impressed.”

“Seriously, Kasumi, if you-”

“Really, it’s okay, Ranma. My little meltdown wasn’t because of you. It’s just… How should I put it? It really hurt to realize there might be someone who isn’t following their heart because they erroneously think it’s wrong.”

Ranma could tell there was subtext in her words and he wondered if they applied to Akane. Had Kasumi really been able to figure that out? Regardless, he let the subject die as they began to concentrate on what he was going to wear.

* * *

Akane left the store carrying a small bag of groceries. She swung the bag back and forth in front of her as she made her way home. A small part of her was jealous that Ranma was going on a date with Ukyo again. And after all of the times he’d insisted that she was just a friend. Perhaps, she figured, that was why Kasumi had sent her out to buy a couple ingredients, so that she wouldn’t be there while Ranma prepared for his date.

A wicked grin danced on her lips as she considered telling her dad about the date. While her sisters knew that Ranma and her had unofficially broken their engagement, everyone else was kept in the dark. Not only to protect her own secret and to not have to worry about being asked why, but so that Ranma didn’t find himself homeless. He was, though she would never admit it out loud, a good friend. He’d done a lot for their family, so Akane had decided the deception would be better for everyone.

“Oh ho ho ho!” a wicked laugh sounded across the street. Akane quickly looked up to see a girl in a green leotard standing precariously on a street lamp. Her gymnastic ribbon was fluttering in the wind while her “rival” stared at her maliciously.

“Akane Tendo, today you give Ranma to me!” Within the span of seconds Kodachi had jumped from the street lamp and launched an attack at Akane. Having always hidden her martial prowess, Akane entered the defensive stance of a beginner in martial arts, as if she didn’t know how to counter. But at the last second, instinct she couldn’t control had her sidestep Kodachi, grabbing her wrist in the process and swinging her around in a circular arc towards the nearby wall. Kodachi hit it with a massive impact and slumped to the ground for a few seconds.

“Oh ho ho ho!” Kodachi laughed as she got to her feet. “I was just going to torture you until you handed over Ranma and then lock you away to watch our love for all of eternity, but now, Akane Tendo, you must die. How dare you besmirch the great name of Kuno?!”

Akane was breathing heavily. Fear was coursing through her veins, not from Kodachi, but her own lack of self control. One of the secrets she’d guarded for so long was bleeding through without her permission. The grocery bag’s contents were now scattered on the ground, remnants of a glass container scattered about her feet.

Kodachi whipped her ribbon at Akane as she decided how to handle the situation. Should she feign weakness and hope Ranma - she realized, with some sadness, that wouldn’t be as often of an occurrence anymore - or that someone else might come to save her? Or was it better to go all out against Kodachi and put her down once and for all?

Akane’s legs tensed as she prepared to dodge the ribbon attack. But before she could, chopsticks appeared out of thin air, grabbing the ribbon and pulling it in a different direction. The grip had been so strong that Kodachi had to let go of her ribbon lest she were dragged with it. And then flashes, bangs, and blurs fluttered across Akane’s vision. It was clear a fighter far out of her league had come to save her and she was at the nexus of the fight, surrounded by a visual tornado of kicks, punches, and who knows what with Nerima’s strange martial arts schools.

Roughly a minute had passed before the fighting died down. A dazed and defeated Kodachi lay next to a fire hydrant, tied up with various gymnastic ribbons and other implements of hers. Clapping her hands up and down, wiping off some sort of dust, was Shampoo.

Akane’s eyes went wide as Shampoo turned around to face her. Had Shampoo been humoring her the other night at the dojo? Fear gripped her as she realized how dangerous an enemy the Amazon really was. If Shampoo wanted her dead, then her only hope was to rely on a stronger fighter to protect her. That thought alone disturbed her. She wanted to be strong enough, not just to protect herself, but to protect the ones she loved.

“Tomboy cause trouble again,” Shampoo commented. Her brows were raised in a sort of bewilderment as her eyes ran up and down against Akane. Akane’s face flushed at the intensity of the glare.

“What do you want?” Akane sneered. It was more a reaction to seeing Shampoo than anything, but she didn’t like being accused as the trouble maker either. Part of her was already regretting her usual attitude towards Shampoo; as terrified as she was by Shampoo’s power, she also felt more comfortable talking to her than not. It didn’t make sense, but then again she could say that of many things occurring in the past few days.

“Must kill Akane,” Shampoo said. Her tone had changed from amused to neutral, almost robotic. “Can no fulfill mission if Tomboy already dead.”

Akane sighed, picked up what she could of the ruined groceries, and started to walk home. She was tired of all of this craziness and the last thing she wanted was to be around the woman that could and might kill her at any instant. The thought never even crossed her mind to thank Shampoo; her mind was consumed with a desire to hide away in the dojo and practice. If she didn’t want to be weak or vulnerable to Shampoo, then she had to get better, and quickly.

A minute or two passed before she heard a bike riding behind her. Shampoo was now riding alongside her, humming what sounded like a lullaby.

“What do you want, Shampoo?” Akane’s body felt like it would give out at any moment. The stress she was under was more intense than she would have imagined and the fear of her secrets leaking, of the crazy women after Ranma, and her own weakness was driving her to exhaustion.

Shampoo didn’t answer but kept riding alongside her. This made Akane even more irate. If Shampoo had been anyone else, she might have tried to give them a good kicking into the horizon.

Akane stopped near a small alley to face Shampoo, who quickly stopped in time with her. She breathed in deeply and decided she was done with all of it. Done. Done!

“Shampoo, you say you are supposed to kill me, for what I can only presume my engagement to Ranma,” she started. Her voice was shaking and she cursed herself as her eyes became moist. Her whole body was beginning to tremble slightly. Her emotions were breaking through and she was loosing control. “Then go ahead, do it, right now. No one’s around.”

Shampoo’s eyes went blank as she dismounted her bike, quickly but carefully leaned it up against the wall, and then faced Akane and stood as still as a statue. A few strands of her purple hair blew in the wind, reminding Akane that the girl in front of her was alive. And then fear shattered Akane’s mind. Shampoo hadn’t even moved but the aura she was putting off was unnatural.

Akane’s body moved on its own, backing up against a wall as Shampoo moved forward and raised her hand. She could tell it was the lethal move Shampoo had used the other night. Akane’s eyes closed as her mind tore apart from fear. She was no longer able to maintain control, her body now shaking tremendously and tears flowing from her eyes. Of everything happening, it was even worse that she had to appear as such a coward, but in the end she couldn’t help what her body was doing. Even if she had successfully steeled her mind, her body itself felt a primordial sense of fear.

Akane’s eyes were opened seconds later when she heard the loud sobs of a girl. She looked down at her own chest, finding no mark, scar, or hole. Shampoo hadn’t attacked her and was instead crouched against the opposite wall. She had her hands around her legs and was rocking back and forth with her head buried in her knees.

Akane’s still trembling hands reached out for Shampoo against her better judgement. She was the woman who was moments ago trying to kill her. But she’d never seen Shampoo this vulnerable before. A wicked thought of trying to take advantage of it crossed her mind. With one strike on this vulnerable Amazon, she could end the threat forever. But instead her hand rested on the Amazon’s shoulders.

“Wh-wh-what’s wrong?” she shuddered, finding herself out of breath. Her body was beginning to calm down, no longer exposed to the deadly aura Shampoo had been putting off.

“Shampoo no want kill Akane,” she cried. Akane made an inaudible gasp. Something clearly wasn’t right with her, but Akane wondered if it would really be in her best interest to help the Amazon get better.

“Then don’t,” Akane stated, not understanding the conflict.

“Akane no understand.” Akane had to strain to make out her words between the sobbing. “To violate Amazon law have serious consequence. Shampoo be exiled. And target killed by other Amazon.”

Akane started crying too. She wasn’t even sure why. But she sat down beside Shampoo and let the tears flow. Only the sounds of their tears and sniffles could be heard for the next few minutes. At some point, though she wasn’t sure when, their hands had scooted across the ground and gripped each other.

Shampoo looked up over at Akane with puppy dog eyes, red and swollen from having been crying. Akane’s heart skipped a beat as she saw her stare.

“Tomboy keep secret, yes?” Shampoo begged. Akane was hit with a sense of deja vu from months back, when she had shared a similar scene with Ranma. She remembered how scared she’d been to reveal the truth and how scared she was he might reveal it on her.

“As long as you don’t try to kill me anymore,” she replied. There was a slight irritancy in her tone, but it didn’t change the overwhelming sympathy she was feeling for the beautiful Amazon sitting beside her.

A few more seconds of silence continued between them, her hand firmly in possession of Shampoo’s. And then Shampoo stood up, freed her hand, and wiped off some dust from her shirt.

“Shampoo buy food that ruin during fight,” the Amazon stated, walking back towards her bike.

“You don’t have-” Akane tried to protest, but Shampoo had already started to head in the direction of a nearby store. Shampoo looked over her shoulder at Akane expectantly, waiting for her to join up. Akane made a quick sprint and walked beside Shampoo in silence all the way to the store.

“You don’t have to do this,” Akane said, wailing her arms at the checkout as Shampoo pulled out a cat themed credit card to pay for the groceries that Akane had lost during Kodachi’s attack.

“Amazon law require Shampoo correct damage,” the Amazon stated, finishing the process of checking out and giving the groceries to Akane. “Shampoo also accompany Tomboy home, Amazon law say Shampoo must.”

Akane gave up protesting and let her walk her home, again in relative silence. It was hard to start a conversation with Shampoo, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Kasumi has entered the story. She’s not a major character in this fic, but amongst all of the minor characters, she has the biggest role. As you might imagine from her reactions, she’s got something she hasn’t been able to say as well. I know she’s a bit OOC, but I hope she still feels like Kasumi regardless.
> 
> Also, Kasumi’s reaction to Ranma may not be perfect, but it is heartfelt. I’d go into more details on why her reaction is the way it is, but it’s a very mild spoiler. I think it should be pointed out for any confused that she isn’t telling Ranma he has to accept his curse or his female form. She’s “trying” to communicate to him that it’s okay to be fine in your own body regardless of what others have been telling him. For instance, she’s not saying his transformation isn’t a curse, she’s asking him the question about whether he really considers it one or if he just talks about it like that because others have called it one. 
> 
> When I write scenes like Ranma and Kasumi’s, I generally like to have characters not give a perfect speech. At least with my experience irl, most people have the right intentions but can’t communicate them perfectly. I think it adds a bit of realism, but it’s just my preference.
> 
> I know Ranma's accent seems to go in and out. I think that's more how he's supposed to talk? I mainly try to use it on occasions where he is emotional or in a rush to say something. Anyways, hopefully it's okay and doesn't make reading his speech hard.
> 
> Akane has come to think of Ranma as a friend, maybe even something like a sibling, but she still has some lingering feelings for him at the moment.
> 
> And yes, that was all Amazon Law. It certainly couldn’t have been anything else.
> 
> Next chapter, water problems. Ryoga also gets a small (not very flattering) cameo.


	8. Chapter 8

Ranma had been busy all day preparing for his date with Ukyo. If Mr. Tendo or Pops found out, he’d be dead. Very, very dead. Fortunately, they weren’t the most observant duo, so he figured it’d be safe to sneak out with no one noticing. He did it all the time anyways.

All was well and good, or at least as well and good as the Tendo household could manage, until he decided to take a bath. It was a fatal mistake. The bath didn’t appear to be hot, so he tried putting his hand in the water to verify. The water was cold and the once male Ranma was now female. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal. Except that, as he soon found out, none of the faucets were producing hot water. The water heater was broken.

So Ranma headed for the kitchen to heat up the tea pot but the stove was broken as well. In fact it seemed the entire house was somehow under maintenance because he couldn’t find a source of hot water anywhere. Fed up with the search, he grabbed a pot, made his way outside, piled some wood together, and tried to start a fire. But before he could, a hand gently gripped his shoulder.

“Why go through all this trouble?” Kasumi asked from behind him. “Do you think Ukyo would mind if you showed up as a girl?”

“Of course, this is a date!” Ranma growled, increasingly angry with the wood for not catching fire easily. But in the back of his mind, the words were gnawing at him. Ukyo hadn’t cared whether he’d been a man or a woman, and it did sound fu-

“Damn!” Ranma exclaimed as he stuck his hand in the newly kindled fire. The pain was a great distraction from the disgust and shame he’d felt at those thoughts. “Besides, it’s not like I’d have anything to wear-”

“Actually,” Kasumi interrupted, moving to stand in front of him. He noticed a certain article of clothing in her other hand. “I thought something like this could happen. If you want, you can wear this.”

Ranma’s mind froze as his mind flashed back to the other day when Kasumi had been helping him with what to wear on the date. The particular outfit she was holding had piqued his interest at the time. Having noticed this, Kasumi had asked if he wanted to try it on. He had tried to resist the pull he felt towards it, but when he slipped it on it felt incredibly natural. Not at all like the other times he’d worn women’s clothing out of necessity rather than desire. Well mostly. He had been known to enjoy a parfait in his female form if not only to avoid the embarrassment. 

For a minute, it had felt so liberating. And then the embarrassment and revulsion of what he was doing came piling on and he quickly took it off, back to focusing on clothes that would accentuate his manliness.

Back in the present, Ranma and Kasumi stood around the fire for a couple minutes in complete silence. Ranma was sweating buckets while Kasumi switched between a smile and a frown. As if each could read what the other was thinking, Ranma’s face started responding in kind, an unending cyclical pattern to their emotions playing out across their faces. Ranma knew what he wanted to do, he knew what he shouldn’t do, but he didn’t know what he was about to do. The water began to boil, and while in this state of panic, Ranma jumped back uncharacteristically in fear.

“Should I put this away?” Kasumi eyed the clothing she was holding. Was it really okay to do this? The water would be ready soon, but he was already running late. _Even a few seconds to wait for hot water would be detrimental_ he convinced himself. He had to get going now if he were to make their date on schedule. As it always had been, being perfectly on time was a necessary virtue that the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts valued.

****

After a quick, stealth phone call to let Ukyo know what had happened, Ranma slipped out of the house quietly. For any normal person, such a feat would be impressive considering what he was wearing, but for Ranma it was nothing special. He’d had to do this many times before, but this was the first time he was choosing to do it rather than being forced to or having no other options.

Ranma wore a simple white sundress replete with a white sun hat. He had matching heels, fairly understated, and his red hair was in its normal pigtail. His entire body was red from head to toe and at points he thought he might die of embarrassment. It was a different feeling to be doing this with no ulterior motive, for actually wanting to be like this. In many ways it was uncomfortable and at various points he considered stopping and going back to his male form. But… He didn’t want to do that yet.

“Pigtailed girl!” a familiar voice called out. The crazed Kendo Captain was running opposite of Ranma with bags spilling over from the amount of groceries in them and what appeared to be dry cleaning. Nabiki was sure working the poor boy to death. He wound up a punch, prepared to send Kuno flying into the horizon, but the Kendo captain sped past him in an uncharacteristically odd fashion. _Since when did he not have time for his pig tailed girl?_

Ranma realized what he had asked himself only a second later and felt the sudden wave of nausea that hit him out of disgust. He really, really needed to be more careful with his word choices. He couldn't be happier that Kuno may be done obsessing with him. The scarier thought, however, was where Kuno's attention had shifted to.

Ranma redoubled his efforts to stay in stealth mode and darted across Nerima’s rooftops until reaching the agreed upon destination. The sign on the door said closed, but Ukyo had left a key for Ranma to get in with. The restaurant gave off a haunted glow, empty and devoid of nearly all life. He had acknowledged it many times before, but to see the stark contrast to its usual bustle, it was clearer than ever how talented Ukyo was at making okonomiyaki. There was, however, one face he’d wished he wouldn’t see.

“Oh Ukyo-” The boy started. He was dressed in yellow martial artist’s clothes and was wearing a black and yellow bandana. “I’m sorry miss, are you lost, maybe I can-”

“What are you doing here, Ryoga?” Jealousy assailed him. Ryoga was his rival in martial arts; did he now insist on being his rival in love? Again? Ranma started to crack his knuckles, getting ready to fight. Ryoga on the other hand stared at him clueless, not realizing he was looking right at Ranma.

“You know me?” Ryoga asked, pointing to himself like a moron. Ranma figured he could work with this. “But the store is closed, so why are you here?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Ranma yelled. “What do you want with Ukyo?”

“None of your business strange girl.”

“Oh, it’s my business, alright. Ukyo’s my fiancée and no one else is supposed to be here right now. Start talking!” Ranma’s instincts to fight were overpowering him. He knew that he shouldn’t be fighting when he was about to go on a date with Ukyo. But there were some things that would never change and wanting to pound Ryoga into a pulp for interfering in his love life again was one of those. Ranma deftly removed the heels he was wearing, then started to march forwards .

“Fiancée?” Ryoga’s eyebrows raised. Ranma stopped dead in his tracks. His face was flushing again and he was beginning to wonder if it’d be permanently stuck that way. What had he just said? In this form, he’d… 

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, mom’s going to make me commit seppuku if she finds out_ was all he could think. But the thought that his pops would also be forced to calmed him down. There was some justice in this world after all.

“Uh, well, uh,” Ranma’s voice went high and girly. He held his hands to his cheeks and squirmed in embarrassment, chest puffed out to make things easier to see. He was slipping into the girl act he normally had to put on whenever he needed to get something out of Kuno or someone else. He really hated this side of himself, but it had produced results before.

“Ah, darling,” an abnormal voice called out. It sounded like someone trying to do their best impression of a deep, manly voice. “We must be going now, darling. Our date awaits.”

Ryoga’s eyes began to seethe with anger as Ranma felt a hand wrap around his shoulders. Looking to his side, he saw Ukyo dressed in a somewhat femininely tailored men’s suit, hair tied up in a more manly style, and a very obvious fake mustache that was hanging crookedly just above her upper lip. He was used to seeing Ukyo dress in guy’s clothes for school, but this part was new. He felt weirdly vulnerable as he stood next to her presenting himself as a woman. This triggered his instinct to not be vulnerable and his rage began to build again as he concentrated on Ryoga. Someone had to be the target for him to vent on with Happosai being locked up.

“Who are you?!” Ryoga asked incredulously. Ranma’s anger dissipated quickly as he stifled a laugh. Ryoga really was clueless, even if not as bad as Kuno.

“I’m, uh, Ukyo’s brother,” Ukyo said in her deepest baritone. 

“Oh!” Ryoga’s eyes lit up. “Good to meet you, sir. Please, can you tell me when Ukyo will be by?”

“Can you tell me what business you have with her?” Ukyo replied.

“Yes, well I want to have a special okonomiyaki made for a certain someone, and, uh, well,” now Ryoga was blushing as he poked his index fingers together. 

“I’m sure my sister will be glad to take your order tomorrow. But she’s out right now and I already have plans with my girlfriend. We’re sorry for the delay, but we appreciate your business. I promise it’s worth the wait, Ukyo’s okonomiyaki is the best in town!” Ukyo’s voice slipped back to her regular self as her business persona took over. Ranma realized it was no different than his urge to fight Ryoga. And fortunately the bandana wearing martial artist was as dense as he was.

“Oh, I see, I apologize then. I shall return tomorrow.” Ryoga paused before looking at Ranma. “Girl-girlfriend? Shame on you, dating two people at the same time.” Ryoga shook his head and walked out, Ukyo holding back Ranma as he flailed his arms and tried to leap Ryoga. The hypocrite deserved a good beating.

“Are you ready?” Ukyo asked kindly when he had calmed down, pulling off the fake mustache. He looked up at her, then away towards the ground. He silently shook his head, suddenly feeling very small. “When I saw Ryoga, I knew I finally had a use for that fake mustache that was laying around! Anyways, I wasn’t sure if this outfit would be okay to wear, considering the circumstances. If it’s making you uncomfortable, I can go change.”

“Thanks, Ucchan,” he whispered. Ukyo redid her hair, having apparently changed it to fool Ryoga. For just a moment, as her hair slowly fell around her shoulders, he was knocked breathless. Any sort of discomfort disappeared for a brief but pleasurable moment. “But I like seeing you in the clothes that make you the happiest, so don’t change on account of me.” 

Ukyo finished with her hair, tying it up in a ponytail that matched Ranma’s. Then she reached her hand down for his and they left the shop, heading to a surprise location. He had no clue what she had planned for their date. And while he was excited, part of him couldn’t help but analyze every possible source of hot water available. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to stay in his female form without dying from embarrassment or shame, even if he’d been having a good time so far.

* * *

“Oh my, Shampoo, how nice to see you,” Kasumi commented as she took the bag of groceries from Akane. “Thanks Akane, you really helped me out.”

Kasumi’s smile was so sweet that Akane feared she’d get a stomach ache. Shampoo had insisted on coming inside with her, saying that Amazon law required her to make sure reparations had been made. Typically she’d think it was to have an excuse to see Ranma, but Shampoo had stuck by her side the entire time. Anytime Akane would look over at Shampoo, the Amazon’s eyes were never darting around or trying to find something else. They were generally fixed on Akane or something in front of them. She didn’t stop to consider that she’d been sneaking plenty of looks at Shampoo herself.

Akane sat next to Shampoo, sipping on the tea Kasumi had prepared for them. She stared at her older sister across the table. Kasumi had a pleasant smile and was often gazing off in the distance, her lips slightly rising every time Akane and Shampoo interacted.

Akane was shocked that she could sit next to Shampoo with no hate, no vitriol, and no mayhem. Most of their time was being spent in silence as they sipped on their tea - she wasn’t sure what kind it was, but it had a strong mint flavor - and made a few comments on basic fighting techniques.

“Don’t you dare!” she heard a voice yell from somewhere in the house. Loud noises of things crashing and breaking ringed throughout the house before an explosion ripped through the kitchen wall. A torrent of water came bursting through only on her and Shampoo’s side of the table, slamming both of them back towards the wall. Kasumi in the meantime just watched, unaffected, and finished her last sip of tea. She was fairly sure that Kasumi had a secret of her own; her eldest sister had an unnatural sort of luck for avoiding the Tendo household’s chaos.

“Oh my,” was all Kasumi said when the dust had settled. A very angry looking Soun was standing over a panda, whose sign he was holding said it was Soun’s fault. Akane sat up and rubbed her neck, sore from the impact of the water. A second later she realized Shampoo was missing. And then she saw the white-pink cat, trying to shake off its wet fur before she scooped Shampoo into her arms.

“Let’s go dry off,” Akane said kindly, planning to go get a change of clothes for them.

“Oh, Shampoo,” Soun said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “There’s, uh, no hot water. Genma here was trying to fix the water heater and managed to break it, the kitchen plumbing, and the kitchen all at once.”

The panda protested before being hit by Soun, which then devolved into them fighting each other again. But amidst their stupidity, Kasumi had risen and extended her hands to take Shampoo.

“You go get changed and I’ll dry your clothes out for you,” Kasumi smiled. “I’ll take Shampoo outside so she can dry in the sun.”

Akane did as her older sister instructed. She changed as quickly as possible, then rushed out to the backyard and handed her clothes to Kasumi. She was shocked to see Shampoo in her cat form rolling around on the ground, reveling in the sun and drying off. She couldn’t suppress her laugh at the very cat like behavior Shampoo was demonstrating. Her loud laugh alerted Shampoo to her presence and the cat quickly stood on its legs and walked a little ways away from her, embarrassed to have been caught.

As Kasumi left them alone, Akane leaned back and started to close her eyes. The sun was warm and hot, and after all the stress she’d had, it was having a calming effect on her. Thoughts of Ranma’s date, Shampoo’s attempted execution of her, and other negative matters had been purged from her mind. It wasn’t long before her mind gave way and she fell asleep, basking in the sunlight.

When Akane awoke, it was to a sunset with a gentle breeze all around. Her lap felt incredibly warm and she felt more well rested than she had in months. A small purring sound was coming from her lap as she looked down to see Shampoo in her cat form curled up in it. Akane gently brushed her fingers through Shampoo’s fur, surprised at how soft it was.

“Hot water’s working again!” Nabiki shouted from the porch, stirring Shampoo. The girl-turned-cat quickly jumped out of Akane’s lap. “Come and get it kitty, come here!” Nabiki teased, holding a kettle of hot water.

Shampoo hesitated but then quickly ran over as Nabiki poured the water on her. Then Nabiki reached behind her and handed her what appeared to be some of Akane’s own clothes. 

“500 yen.” Nabiki demanded. Shampoo nodded her head.

“I pay tomorrow,” Shampoo promised, taking the clothes and going to get changed.

Akane sat at their dining table and stared in awe. The kitchen and everything else that had been broken was already repaired in the span of hours. When she inquired as to how it was possible, Kasumi had went quiet, only mentioning that their dad could get some things done when he wanted to. While Akane wanted to be impressed, the ominous noises that creaked from within the walls anytime the water was run in the household made her think otherwise.

Dinner had apparently passed while Akane was sleeping, but Kasumi had made sure to save her a portion and had warmed it up. Shampoo had rejoined them, wearing western clothes that looked odd on her. Akane was so used to seeing the Amazon in Chinese dress, but she didn’t hate seeing Shampoo in a different style of fashion either. It was a little weird that they were her own clothes though.

Both Akane and Shampoo sipped on their soup as Kasumi sat across the table and nibbled on a few leftovers she had from dinner. Akane couldn’t believe her oldest sister was so considerate that she had actually left a small portion of food to eat with them when they woke up.

“If you two weren’t girls, I’d think you were dating,” Kasumi commented out of nowhere. Akane and Shampoo, who had been sitting very near each other, quickly scooted away and began to blush.

“Shampoo must kill Akane,” was all the Amazon managed to mutter before returning to stuffing her face, this time more vigorously than before.

“We’re not even friends!” Akane protested to Kasumi, embarrassed by such a proposition. She regretted her word choice as she noticed Shampoo’s shoulders slump a little before she gulped down the rest of the soup in one mighty go. Akane was only half way through hers in comparison.

“Don’t say something like that,” Kasumi said playfully. Her eldest sister was up to something but Akane couldn’t figure out what it was. “And Shampoo, you shouldn’t threaten to kill Akane, it’s no wonder she’d say something like that.”

Kasumi finished the last bite of her food, then slapped her hands down against the table uncharacteristically and stood up. Akane thought that she might be angry, but her sister only smiled before turning to leave the room.

“What do I know?” she said in a low voice, stopping at the threshold of the room. “There are girls out there that do ‘that,’” she finished before exiting the dining room.

Akane looked over to find that Shampoo was not only blushing, but had finished her entire meal. She was already getting up and heading to the backyard before Akane could even speak or finish her own meal.

“Thanks for meal, Tomboy,” Shampoo said with her back to Akane. “Tell sister I pay tomorrow morning.”

And with that Shampoo leapt on the fence, then off into the horizon. Akane finished her meal in silence, her head an utter mess. She’d been through a roller coaster of emotions the entire day, but now she was back to where she’d started. Stressed out and sad. She felt empty and sort of incomplete.

It was only then that it clicked in her head. But she shook it in denial. That couldn’t be it. It didn’t make any sense. Shampoo wanted to kill her. But if the Amazon really wanted her dead, then she’d already have died. Shampoo was fairly vicious when they had first met, maybe that was the real her. Akane tried to counter herself, but failed miserably. Since then she’d been increasingly nicer. But does that excuse everything she’s done?

Akane’s debate went on for awhile in her head and kept haunting her even as she tried to sleep. She knew it was wrong, she knew that she shouldn’t, but she liked Shampoo. Really, really liked her. And, if it wasn’t just wishful thinking, then she believed that Shampoo likely reciprocated her crush. But she knew that had to be nothing more than fantasy; Shampoo was in love with Ranma, forced to marry him by Amazon law. _Forced_ the word echoed in her head. _Forced_. 

Her dreams that night weren’t pleasant. Shampoo had nearly killed her and in response Ranma (in his girl form) had killed Shampoo with the very technique she’d tried on Akane. And then the dream saw her in the future, marrying some unknown man as a happy Ranma & Ukyo sat in the audience, Ranma’s hand feeling Ukyo’s now bloated belly. The veil came up on the man (why was a man wearing a veil she wondered), revealing one Tatewaki Kuno as her groom. She awoke with a scream, looking about her room only to realize there was no one there. That only made her sadder as she recalled waking up from her nap when she had been so pleasantly relaxed, and so close to the one she liked, even if the girl was stuck in the from of a cat at that moment. Akane closed her eyes and forced herself to rest, secretly longing for the heat of the Amazon warrior next to her. As paradoxical as it was, she had never felt safer or slept better than when Shampoo had been by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos. I do enjoy reading the comments especially.
> 
> This chapter and a few of the ones around it have been a pain. I’ve rewritten them so many times and had so many continuity errors. It’s taken awhile to get these in a readable state. Hopefully I got rid of all or at least most of the continuity errors.
> 
> So it’s obvious that I’m terrible at describing clothing. Ukyo’s fashion choice was actually based off of something I saw on a TV show on a woman. I thought it looked neat and fit her character so I went with it.
> 
> You may wonder why male pronouns are still being used for Ranma. That is because it’s how his character identifies at this point in the story, they will change as Ranma begins to understand his own identity.
> 
> If you’re curious as to Ryoga’s love life, it’s at the same place as where the manga ended. It’s not especially relevant to this fic however.
> 
> You may not be able to guess it from this fic, but Nabiki is actually my favorite character. Unfortunately I didn't get to make as much use of her as I'd have liked.
> 
> Kasumi is trying her best to help Akane, but she obviously doesn’t do it exactly right. Perhaps if she took more time to think about it, she would be doing things in a more correct fashion, but right now she’s acting out of a mixed sense of selflessness and selfishness. But what could she hope to gain from her actions?
> 
> Next chapter, Ranma and Ukyo go on a date. Again. In the meantime, Akane finds herself alone with Shampoo.


	9. Chapter 9

Ukyo moved ahead of Ranma, opening the door for him. He hesitated for a second before deciding to walk into the restaurant. He looked about nervously as Ukyo confirmed their reservation and nearly stumbled a few times as the waiter led them to their seats.

Ranma slid into the booth opposite of Ukyo and breathed a sigh of relief. No one familiar was around and they weren’t getting any odd looks. Of course both of them blended in, he figured, but with every breath he was scared they’d realize he was a guy, that they were some perverted couple, and then his mom would be waiting with a….

Ukyo’s hand reached out for his, helping to silence the thoughts for a few blissful seconds. When there was no anxiety or paranoia, he was finding that he was enjoying himself. But of course that led to even more worries, as what did that make him? A crossdresser? A pervert?

“Ranma,” Ukyo piped up, breaking the silence that had been developing between them since they’d approached the restaurant. “If you’re not comfortable with this, then we don’t need to-”

Ranma shook his head, maybe a little too quickly for his liking, dismissing the question.

“Good,” she smiled. “I didn’t think I’d enjoy this so much, but… It’s kind of fun when you’re a girl too. I hope that doesn’t upset you, I know it’s not something you’re comfortable with, but…” 

Ukyo bit her lip as she contemplated what to say next. Ranma’s response died in his throat; he found himself unable to admit that he was in fact enjoying himself like this.

“Well I’ve always liked you, Ranma,” she blushed, “but I guess I like when you’re not always needing to prove how manly you are. It’s not like you have anything to prove in that reg-”

Her words seemed to have caught in her throat as she tried to pull her hand back and look away in embarrassment. Ranma gripped it harder, not letting go until the waiter showed up. They gave him their orders, then looked directly at each other.

“So Ucchan, umm, how’s the okonomiyaki business,” Ranma chuckled. He wasn’t really made for starting conversations, but he wanted to get to know her better, so he tried the only subject he could think of.

“Good, good,” she hummed, tapping her fingers against the table. “And how’s the martial arts business going for you?”

Ranma didn’t notice her smirk and started to go on and on about some of the new techniques he’d been learning. In fact he was surprised when the waiter came with their food; he’d been talking the whole time. That was when his whole face flushed, realizing the increasing look of boredom on Ukyo’s face. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, talking with his friend like this, but they were on a date, and he suspected perhaps that wasn’t where she wanted the conversation to go.

“If you could be a vegetable, which vegetable would you be?” he suddenly spurted in between the udon he was slurping on. Ukyo’s face took on a confused look the likes of which he’d never seen. Could the human face contort like that?

“What?” was all she could reply.

“I don’t know, it was just somethin’ I saw in one of Akane’s magazines for couples, and well I’d say I’m a carrot.”

This assertion caused Ukyo to spit out some of her food and laugh.

“A carrot, really?” she giggled.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?”  
“I’d have called you a cucumber, but whatever, if you think you’re a carrot, who am I to judge?”

Ranma started laughing too.

“What’s that supposed to mean? What’s the difference? Aren’t they just stupid vegetables?”

“You’re the one who brought this up,” Ukyo reminded him. Ranma quickly slurped up more of his udon, mildly embarrassed. “Well, it stands to reason that a carrot is like an ostrich, it buries its head in the sand. That’s not really your style of clueless.”

“Wait, did you just call me clueless?”

“Whatever do you mean, Ranma honey, I thought they were just meaningless vegetables? Anyways, the way I figure it, you’re a cucumber. Put you in a chaotic concoction, give you some time, and you end up better than ever.”

“I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

“But it is, it means I like you more every day.”

There was a small silence before Ranma piped up again.

“But you still haven’t answered what you’d be yet?”

“That’s easy, Ranchan! Obviously I’m a cabbage. My life is dedicated to preparing the perfect okonomiyaki, what other vegetable could it be?!”

Ranma guffawed, unable to hold back the happiness he was experiencing. A lot of things hadn’t made sense since his fight with Happosai, except that every moment spent with Ukyo was better than any moment without her. As Ukyo scowled at him, he realized he wasn’t laughing because something was hilarious; she was so cute, it seemed to make him giddy.

“Of course you’d be a cabbage,” he huffed, trying to recover his breath. “Hmm, well a cucumber and a cabbage aren’t terrible together, huh? Guess that makes us compatible.”

“So you gave up on the whole carrot thing?” Ukyo questioned him.

“What can I say, you made compelling points.” He smiled.

“So you like those types of magazines?” Ukyo mused.

“Well, no, I, umm,” he stumbled over himself for words. He looked down to see his remaining udon getting colder. Finish it now, or leave room for a parfait? He never got them when he was in guy mode, so…

“Sorry, Ranma, I thought… I shouldn’t have-” Ukyo appeared to be nervous, as if she thought she had offended him.

“What, no,” Ranma blurted out. He didn’t want Ukyo to get the wrong idea, he hadn’t been upset, just absorbed in thought over food. “I wasn’t looking at them for that reason. It’s just, I wanted to make sure our date was good, so I was looking at them for advice.”

“Oh,” she blushed.

Ukyo made the most adorable faces whenever she was embarrassed. Sometimes Ranma wanted to tease her, but having experience with where that led while he was with Akane made him think twice about it. He enjoyed that their relationship was far, far more peaceful. And unlike Akane, who was sort of cute when she got angry, Ukyo was far cuter when she was happy. 

Aside from the pleasant company he was keeping, he had other thoughts on his mind. Chiefly that being on a date with Ukyo as a woman wasn’t that different from when he was a man. Perhaps he’d just become comfortable with this form since the fall in the springs. But it was something he could easily do without-

“And one parfait for the beautiful ladies.” The waiter beamed in the classic, overenthusiastic attitude that all waiters have and placed the dessert in the center of the table. Ranma had only just finished his udon noodles and hadn’t even had time to broach the topic of dessert. The smile that spread across ~~her~~ his face was as wide as a child’s in a candy store.

“I thought we could share it, if you don’t mind.” Ukyo looked over at Ranma and he nodded in agreement, wasting no time and picking up his spoon to dig in. This was a surprise that he could really get behind.

“It’s _mph_ so _mph_ good,” he tried to say between bites. He hadn’t stopped attacking the thing since he picked up the spoon. “You know me so well.”

“I thought you’d like it, Ranchan.” Ukyo grinned and then proceeded to stuff her face with the delicious confectionery.

The parfait melted away between the two, disappearing in a matter of minutes. Stuffed, Ranma sat back and stared across the table at Ukyo. For a few seconds, memories of them fighting over food as kids came back to him and he grinned. He’d never thought back then he’d fall in love with her. Although he hadn’t ever considered his father would sell him off to multiple families as a fiancé either.

“Are you remembering that time we fought over the popsicle?” Ukyo’s voice brought Ranma back to the present.

“Nah, I was thinkin’ about that time we fought over the mochi,” Ranma laughed. Looking back on everything, nearly all of his memories of Ukyo were good ones. “And the popsicle thing wasn’t really a fight. It was my popsicle, you’re the one that got greedy and-”

“Haha, Ranma honey, you sure do know how to tell a joke.” Ranma stared at his fiancée in utter disbelief. “That was my popsicle and you know it. My dad gave it to me and I asked you to hold it for a second while I freed up my hands. And then I came back to find you trying to suck on it.”

“Really, Ucchan, after all this time. You really insist that was _your_ popsicle.”

“Always,” Ukyo replied.

****

Ranma and Ukyo walked down the street, side by side and holding hands, completely stuffed from their dinner. He hadn’t been this happy in the longest time. That seemed to be a thought he’d been having a lot lately. But as the evening wore on, dread began to overcome him. They had already spent most of the day together, but he still didn’t want the night to end.

“Umm, Ukyo,” Ranma whispered silently. A car zoomed by as Ukyo gently pushed him back towards the buildings they were walking along. He’d always been the one to protect people, but being watched over by Ukyo wasn’t so bad. “I can’t, umm, go home like this. Ya know, if they see me just comin’ and goin’ in a dress however I want, well ya know…”

“I know,” she whispered, looking straight ahead. As much as he wished she’d look over at him, he was glad she didn’t. He was feeling way too vulnerable being with her and wasn’t sure if he could hold her gaze without furiously blushing.

And so they made their way back to Ukyo’s restaurant, mostly in silence. Since Ranma had mentioned needing to get out of the dress, it had become awkward between them. Even so, their hands still hadn’t parted, not until Ukyo had to unlock the door.

“Ranchan,” she said as they entered the back area. Ranma noted a small break area with a couch. “Do you want to stay for a bit of tea before you leave? We have to heat up the water anyways.”

He nodded and Ukyo took off to start the water. She reappeared soon after with the tea and they sat on the couch. Opposite of it was a small TV, but the room was otherwise bare aside from a small table near Ukyo’s end of the couch.

“The water’s simmering, so when you’re ready to leave, you can turn back,” she whispered before sipping on her tea. “Just let me know when you want to change into your clothes and I’ll give you some privacy.”

“Thanks, Ucchan,” he said, sipping his tea as well. He really didn’t want to go home, especially because of the inevitable chaos that would occur as soon as he arrived. No matter what, chaos was a basic rule of the Tendo household. No doubt due in part to Ranma’s family, in all fairness. And he wasn’t exactly fond of returning to his male form at the moment.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Ukyo spoke up all of a sudden, breaking the silence with which Ranma delayed the inevitable.

“Of course, I’m your fiancé, right?” he replied. Ukyo gave a small smile to that.

“Do you not normally like your girl form because you’re a guy, or is it… Do you not like it only because of your family?”

Every fiber of his being tried to prevent himself from replying. There were certain things that should never be said, never be revealed. But it was as if he couldn’t help himself, the question had been asked and he’d had no choice but to respond.

“I didn’t like it at first,” he said, his head hanging down. Panic suddenly seized his body and his hands began to shake, the tea sloshing dangerously back and forth. “And obviously I’m supposed to be a man, so I can’t be this. And I don’t want to, but, I, umm…”

Ukyo had already set her tea down on a nearby table and did the same for Ranma, gently receiving the cup from his trembling hands and ensuring he wouldn’t burn himself. She looked directly in his eyes.

“It’s okay, Ranma, you can tell me, if you feel comfortable with it.”

“I’m a man, but… I also like my girl form. It’s, I know it’s a curse, and it’s wrong to like it, and that probably makes me some crossdresser or pervert, but… It feels like it’s a part of me, just as much as my male side is. I… I don’t like having to feel like I need to be one or the other, I just want to be who I am. I know I’m disgusting, I…”

“So I’m disgusting?” Ukyo quickly asked. Ranma’s face contorted in worry and he started to stammer, unsure of what to say.

“What? No, you’re amazing Ucchan. Why would I think you’re-?”

“I’m dressed in men’s clothes right now, you just said that’s a disgusting thing, so I’m a crossdresser, right? Maybe even a pervert?”

“No, not at all, I like that about ya Ucchan. Ya wear what ya like. And…”

“Exactly,” she smiled, sliding across the couch. Ranma gulped, utterly confused. “Clothes are just clothes, it’s not something to get worked up about. And so what, you like being a girl sometimes? Does that make me a pervert for enjoying being a girl too? Your feelings, they’re not something you should have to feel guilty over. You are who you are after all. And there’s nothing wrong with you.”

The world froze for a minute as Ukyo closed the distance between them and leaned over to hug him. He wrapped his arms back around her, entranced by the closeness and scared by the conversation they’d just had. He’d never been that open even with himself and he didn’t know whether to feel relieved that she didn’t hate him or ashamed that he wasn’t the version of a man that his mother wanted him to be.

Their hug eventually became a kiss. She couldn’t get enough of the okonomiyaki chef, Ukyo’s lips moving against hers, their tongues sloshing about in unending pleasure. She’d never felt so open, vulnerable, or close to anyone like she was now.

The reality was, ever since her childhood friend had shown back up in her life, she’d been falling for her. But Ranma had Akane, at least that’s what she’d told herself. And her feelings for her were legitimate, but even so. Ukyo was still always there. She was always… Ranma had loved her, even if she couldn’t admit it, for awhile now.

As Ukyo pushed Ranma down onto the couch, climbing on top of her, their lips only let up as they needed breath before they’d soon be back at it again. One of Ukyo’s hands had already begun to wander up Ranma’s thigh as hers moved down Ukyo’s lower back. She’d never realized how much she wanted her until that moment, but her passion spilled over. Being in her girl form, Ranma was no longer uncomfortable with doing these sorts of things. In fact, though she tried her damnedest to reject the realization, she’d wanted to do this in her girl form for the longest time.

“You know,” Ukyo said teasingly, letting up from their kiss. “If you don’t go home tonight, then you wouldn’t have to change back into a guy right away, right?”

It was a convenient excuse. Ranma seriously didn’t want to be in her guy form at the moment. Surely it’d be easier to just not go home for the night. 

Ranma smiled and Ukyo pushed her back down into the couch, beginning to make out with her again. In between ragged breaths, she spoke to Ranma.

“You know… I…. hehe… The sofa, it… turns into… a… a bed. So, if we stop for just…. hey, stop that, I’m trying to…”

And so their night continued. By the time Ranma felt they could return to their male form, it was a little too late to go home, so they decided it’d be better to accept their fiancée’s hospitality and stay a little longer.

* * *

Akane sat at the table having finished her breakfast. A strange, eery feeling had overcome the house. She was the only one at home. For some reason or another it seemed everyone had somewhere else to be. 

She found the quiet disturbing, so she slammed her hands down on the table and stood up. There was little she needed to do, so she decided to head to the dojo.

_Brrrring!_

Akane jumped back, a sudden and unfamiliar noise ringing throughout the house. Akane steeled herself, then inched towards the front door. Rarely anything good had come from someone actually being polite and not barging in. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention as she opened the door, ready for whatever nonsense this visitor would bring.

“Nihao, tomboy!” Shampoo said cheerily, sticking her head out and trying to look around the entrance. “Shampoo come pay Nabiki, she here?”

Akane’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of the purple haired Amazon. For a few seconds, she thought that was her fight or flight response and she started to clench her fist in preparation of a fight. Shampoo’s words only processed half a minute later, causing Akane to blush as she looked down and away from the Amazon and unclenched her fist.

“Tomboy okay?” Shampoo asked. Her tone was unusual, Akane noted, and almost seemed caring. Did her heart flutter for the Amazon sworn to kill her?

“Oh, s-s-s-sorry,” Akane stuttered, trying to regain her composure. She looked up at Shampoo, but upon meeting her eyes, immediately looked away and tried to ignore her own rapidly flushing body.

Shampoo continued to look at her oddly, both of them standing in an awkward silence for a moment, before what Shampoo said processed for the second time in Akane’s mind.

“Oh, umm, it’s just me right now,” she finally uttered. “But I can give the money to Nabiki later, if you want.” Something about that offer tinged her mind with regret. It’d mean, she realized, that Shampoo would not have a reason to come by later.

“Shampoo trust tomboy give Nabiki Shampoo’s money.” The purple hair girl smiled, dumping the yen from her hand into Akane’s.

As she turned to leave, Akane began to make stuttering noises yet again, mind scrambling, praying, for an excuse to prevent Shampoo from leaving. Even now she hadn’t fully come to accept how hard she’d fallen for the Amazon, but she did know that it was better when she was around than not; at least recently.

“Your clothes, from yesterday. Bedroom, I get, um,” Akane’s tongue twisted and turned, unable to form a grammatical utterance. “What I mean is, your clothes are in my room. If you’ll give me a minute, I can go get them for you.”

Shampoo turned around, came back to the threshold of the door, and smiled. She nodded her head, oddly quiet, and was now the one looking slightly towards the ground. Akane found herself involuntarily smiling and before she knew it, she was sprinting through the house and towards her room. The whole point was to delay the inevitable, but even so, she wanted to see her again as soon as possible. The conflicting emotions were driving her insane and she didn’t know whether she loved or hated this feeling. Frankly, she’d never felt anything like it in her life.

The Amazon’s clothes were folded neatly and laying on Akane’s desk. Kasumi had asked her to give the clothes back to Shampoo, saying she would be too busy to stop by the restaurant herself. But before she could pick them up, she heard a noise behind her.

Turning around, she saw Shampoo in the doorway of her bedroom, eyes wide and unreadable. Had she been a fool to believe there might be something between them? Had the Amazon warrior finally decided to finish the job?

Akane was powerless, like a deer in the headlights, as Shampoo moved slowly and with purpose. Stopping right before her, Shampoo inched forward, causing Akane to stumble backwards a bit. With her back to the wall, Shampoo moved even closer, cutting off any means of escape, and then grabbed Akane’s hands with her own.

Both girls were blushing tremendously and Akane’s heart felt as if it might explode right out of her chest. Her mind had ceased all function. All she knew was that Shampoo’s touch was warm, comforting. If this was a plan to kill her, it was working. Akane had no will to fight back.

“Akane,” Shampoo purred. Akane didn’t know if it was some odd bias from knowing the Amazon’s Jusenkyo form, but it had almost sounded like a cat’s purr. Shampoo’s face was moving closer to her.

“Shampoo, what-what are you-?” Akane rambled, utterly confused, totally a mess, and having never been happier in her life. Something about hearing her name on the Amazon’s lips, without malice, was incredibly pleasing.

“Shampoo no longer hide, Shampoo like Akane,” the purple hair girl whispered into Akane’s ear. “Want to kiss tomboy.”

Akane gulped. Was she being setup? Was she-?

She was quite surprised by herself. As if everything Shampoo said took an extra second to process entirely, she realized what was happening. As Shampoo brought her head away from Akane’s ear, Akane leaned up to kiss her. The Amazon had no lag to her reaction, her lips had quickly moved down to Akane’s and her hands had now begun to slide around Akane’s waist.

The kiss itself was different from the others she had experienced before. Much different from the one with Ranma. Kissing a girl was on an entirely other level. Especially one she liked this much.

Much too soon, their lips parted and Shampoo slowly backed away from her. She grabbed her clothes off the desk, blushed, and made to leave through the window. It seemed even the Amazon could feel embarrassment and she wanted to leave as fast as possible. But just before jumping out, she turned around and asked a question that made Akane’s heart stop beating.

“Go out with Shampoo later, on date, yes?” The Amazon asked. It wasn’t a demand, but a hopeful question. Akane gulped again and nodded her head. 

“Shampoo free tomorrow, pick up tomboy at seven, is okay?” Akane nodded again and the Amazon flew out the window.

Akane slouched back against her wall, vividly remembering their kiss, still tasting Shampoo on her lips, and praying that she could hold that memory as long as she possibly could. What was impossible, a pointless dream of a stupid little girl, had just become reality. Shampoo liked her back. And Akane found herself smiling, nearly unable to stop for the next few hours. She was done with the day, today was worthless, tomorrow all she could think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a bit late. I got stuck on a few lines and had a hard time deciding how I wanted them to read.
> 
> I don’t know why I have a perverse need to capitalize Japanese food. But apparently I do. Ironically the spellchecker on this site wanted me to capitalize popsicle.
> 
> So Ranma’s genderfluid in this fic if I didn’t make that clear enough, preferring their male or female form at certain times. Him/Her depending on what form Ranma chooses to take or They in situations where their form might not be clear or talking about them in general. They've essentially known this about themself, but have felt too ashamed to fully embrace their female side. Being told that it's okay and slowing coming to that realization themself (not having much of a filter on their emotions helps a lot here) is what helped them to accept their identity. Hopefully I didn't completely fail at this semi-coming out/acceptance of oneself in this chapter, but I have to say I'm not as happy as I'd like to be with the final draft here.
> 
> I tried a thing with a pronoun having a strikethrough. I was attempting to communicate the desire to change them at that point while still being in denial.
> 
> I know when I was questioning, that realization that women actually enjoy being women was a light bulb moment for me. It’s still a hard concept for me to understand that men don’t hate being men. Don't all men want to be women? Yeah, apparently not.
> 
> Does that count as a Harry Potter reference? If so, it was accidental. I decided to leave it when it finally clicked what I wrote. Wasn’t so sure if I should considering my distaste for the author. 
> 
> I honestly have no clue what Ukyo’s shop looked like and/or if she also lived in that building. So in this fic, she basically has a small living area attached to it so that she can either live there or at least stay overnight when business calls for it.
> 
> I was really tempted to have Shampoo do a kabedon with Akane, but I didn’t want her to come across as threatening. Still not sure if I made the right decision.
> 
> Next chapter is Kasumi and the morning after, while Akane and Shampoo finally go on a date. A small time skip will occur after these chapters, leading to the coming out scene for all four protagonists at the Tendo household. Trans/Homophobia and sexism are of course involved. It probably goes better than my coming out at least.


End file.
